


Second Time Around

by RowArk



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, F/F, Magical Accidents, Swan-Mills Family, magic baby, self-aware baby Emma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-03 00:26:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4079611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowArk/pseuds/RowArk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma magically reverts herself to a toddler, with her adult memories, but is unable to communicate and no one knows who she is. Regina takes in the lost baby girl and bonds with her, eventually telling her personal things, having no idea she's actually talking to Miss Swan, who is hearing everything, and it changes how she sees Regina (in a good way). Swan Queen ending for sure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my name is RowArk and I have a serious fic addiction… I'm well aware that I'm in over my head but I can't stop once I get an idea in my head. This summer is my summer of Swan Queen and I will finish all of these stories before Septemeber.
> 
> I will. I promise.
> 
> But here's some more little Emma. Who doesn't love a little Emma? And a Mommy Regina? We all do, I know ;)  
> wan Queen Ending. Little to no Charmings. No Hook (though he is mentioned in chapter 8, he's not actually in the story). No Hood. :) Enjoy :)

Her parents have already left. They headed out at 5:00am. Who leaves at 5:00am? They're almost to New York by now, she's certain. And Henry went with them. He was supposed to wait, and leave with her after the 9:00am council meeting, but he decided he'd rather squeeze in the middle next to his grandparents than wait the extra five hours – six tops – to leave with her. Traitor.

And of course Regina would make a  _huge_  deal out of it. Two Sheriffs out of town for  _two_  whole weeks? As if they weren't entitled to a family vacation from time to time. What did she think was going to happen that she couldn't deal with herself? And Ruby was a fairly efficient temporary deputy. Adequate. Passable.

And yet she'd let Regina get to her anyway. She'd called her parents and said she was going to meet them in a few days, once she was sure that Ruby was really okay manning the station. Henry would have never stood for it, but he left six hours ago.

She's frustrated. And she's pissed. She's pissed at Regina for talking her into this. And she's pissed at herself for letting her convince her. She made a point not to call Regina and let her know she's sticking around for a few more days. Let her fret. Serves her right.

She can feel her magic sparking just below her fingertips. Yep, definitely pissed. She grabs her already packed suitcase and tosses it back into the wardrobe with so much force that it knocks a small box off the top and the contents spill onto the floor.

"Shit."

She bends down to pick them up, and sparking fingers come across something she hasn't thought of in years: a small gold locket from her very first family. She pops it open and sees the smiling faces of Mr. and Mrs. Swan. She can't remember their first names, and she doesn't really care to. They don't matter. They haven't mattered in twenty seven years.

She turns the locket over. It's engraved  _E.S._  Who takes the time to buy a locket for a baby girl, only to ship her off when she's not convenient anymore? She doesn't know why she even kept this. Her hands are shaking. She's frustrated and pissed and sad and lonely and suddenly there's a flash of white light and she's knocked to the ground.

When she comes to, something is wrong. She's not exactly hurt, but she's crying. Not even crying, wailing. Like a baby. And she can't seem to make it stop.

She's on her back, and she tries to force herself to stand, in spite of the waterworks display. She struggles. Why is standing so hard all of the sudden?

She gets to her hands and knees and forces her eyes to open. Everything is huge. What the hell?

She tries to move, but her foot is caught on something. She looks back and sees it's in her jeans, which are no longer on her body, but rather on the floor. And also huge. She shakes her now bare foot free and crawls over to the wardrobe, pulling herself up to a shaky standing position.

She just now realizes the tears have stopped. Thank God.

She looks down and sees her tank top and bra are also now huge. Her black bra is still clasped, but hanging around her thighs. She lets go of the wardrobe and loses her balance quickly, dropping down on her butt with a soft thud.

She decides not to try to stand again, just yet, and she works to shimmy the bra off, while leaving the tank top on. She thinks it should be easier, but her limbs keep getting caught in straps and she feels herself growing frustrated, again. Through the tears that are falling, again, she manages to get the bra straps off, and keep the tank top, that looks like a dress on her now.

She stands back up, one hand on the wardrobe, and looks down, only now realizing there's something missing on her chest. Two things, actually. And panic sets in as she realizes everything around her is not huge; she is little. Something must have happened with her magic and the locket and now she's a child again. Or at least an adult, the size of a child, and judging by her height, relative to everything around her, not more than two-years-old.

And she cries, again.

It's getting old fast, but she can't seem to control it.

It takes her several minutes to regain her composure, and when she finally does, she decides she needs help. As much as she hates to admit it at the moment, she needs to call Regina.

She crawls over to her jeans and fishes her phone out of her pocket. She swipes the screen, touches the contacts icon and then stares in horror. It's all gibberish. She can't read.

_What the hell?_

She wonders why she didn't bother to put anyone's pictures next to their numbers. She can't tell one from the next and she throws the phone in frustration, watching the glass shatter when it hits the ground. Good. Breaking things feels good.

_Oh my God, I really am a toddler._

She's got to get help some other way. She turns to the stairs, and they look daunting. She's already learned she's unsteady on the legs, there's no way she can walk down. She's gonna have to go down on her butt.

She sits down and scoots her way over to the stairs. They are so high, and she wills herself not to look at the hard floor below as she slides to the next stair.

_Ok. You can do this, Emma. You can do this._

She slides to the next stair and the next, confidence building and fear fading with each half a foot closer to the ground she gets.

When she reaches the bottom, she's brimming with self-confidence. She's pretty sure she can do the stand and walk thing. She rises slowly to her feet, trying to adjust to the way her legs feel.

_I can do this._

One foot in front of the other, and she makes it to the door.

She can't reach the handle.

_Shit._

She jumps at it, which just results in landing on her butt, again. It hurts more than she would expect. Don't little kids fall all the time? She guesses little kids usually wear diapers, and she has no extra padding.

Padding. That's what she needs. She toddles over to the couch and pulls down some pillows, and drags them back to the door, making a small pillow hill to stand on.

_Emma Swan, you are a genius._

She swings the door open just as she topples off the pillow hill – it might as well have been a mountain for how bad that fall felt on the back of her head. And now, she's crying again.

Still crying, she pushes the pillows out of the way and crawls into the hall. There's more stairs. She goes down on the butt again. It's starting to feel raw, with only the thin material from her tank top cushioning her skin against the hard floor.

But she's determined as ever. She just needs to get to Regina, and get whatever this spell was reversed, and life will be normal again.

She's at the door.

She didn't think about how she was going to get out of this one. Luckily, it's a handle not a knob, and after a couple of jumps, she catches it. The door swings open as she topples to the ground, yet again. It hurts, yet again. But she's too proud to cry this time – she just made it out the door.

She looks around. The street is fairly empty. Her car is parked in the underground parking behind the building – not that it matters, she certainly can't drive anyway – so she heads off on foot.

She's a little self-conscious of the fact that she's wearing nothing but a tank top-turned-dress, with nothing underneath. Maybe she should have thought of a way to bring the rest of her clothes with her. Maybe Regina can just take her back to the loft to reverse the spell so she doesn't have to return to full grown half naked.

Would it be weird to ask Regina to carry her back? She's getting tired, fast.

She staggers on anyway. There's no one around. At this point, she would be happy to see literally  _anyone_  who could pick her up and carry her to Regina. Or Blue. Or even Gold. Anyone who could reverse this spell.

She feels like she's been walking for an eternity when she finally sees a person. To her relief, it  _is_  Regina, and she's heading right for her. Emma stops and sighs. Finally.

Regina's looking at her with great concern. She must think she's so ridiculous. Emma's prepared for the insults and mockery that's surely coming, but she doesn't care at this point. She just wants to be back to normal so she can forget any of this ever happened.

"Hi, there, Sweetie," Regina says, kneeling down closer to eye level and tilting her head to the side.

"Mama?" Emma says.

_What?_

Emma hadn't meant to say 'Mama'. She wanted to tell Regina what happened.

_What the hell is going on?_

"Ma – uh – umma…" she babbles. Her mouth is betraying her. She sounds like a baby.

_Oh my God._

"Where's your Mama?" Regina asks.

_Oh God, she doesn't recognize me!_

Emma can't believe what's happening. She can't help it. She bursts into tears. Again.

Regina wastes no time scooping her up and holding her close, rocking her gently. "It's alright, Sweetheart. I'll help you find your Mama."

_Not likely. She's in New York._

Regina rubs Emma's little back, and when her hand slides down over Emma's bottom, and she realizes the child is wearing no diaper. She waves her hand and Emma feels magic around her, and suddenly she's in a diaper and soft sleepers, the feetie kind.

_She thinks I'm actually a baby. No, she thinks I'm on my way to New York and that she's holding an actual baby and my parents think I'm in Storybrooke for a few more days and my car is in the underground and no one is even going to realize I'm missing._

Emma's bawling harder, and Regina's patting her back and walking in the opposite direction. Emma has no idea where she's going. She's too hysterical to process anything at the moment. She wishes she could calm down and stop screaming in Regina's ear but she can't seem to control it.

The diaper feels weird and it's so embarrassing and Emma squirms like crazy but Regina doesn't let her go. She finds her touch a little soothing, and she slowly starts to calm down. She glances up from her place on Regina's shoulder and sees Regina is carrying her into the Sheriff's station.

_Oh, maybe she does know!_

Emma's getting excited. She lifts her head up and looks around. There's Ruby, handling her job perfectly.

"Mayor Mills," Ruby says. She's looking at Emma in confusion.

_Ruby, it's me!_

It comes out as "ba-ba" and Emma is mortified.

"Who's this?" Ruby asks, walking over and grinning at Emma. Emma turns her face away and buries it in Regina's shoulder. She doesn't even know why.

"No idea. I just found her wandering around the street wearing nothing but an oversized tank top. There was no one around."

"Ok, I'll put out a missing persons report and check the amber alerts. Are you alright to watch her for a bit, or should I find someone to take her in in the meantime?"

"Oh, um… no, I can watch her. Henry's gone to New York. It will give me something to do," Regina says, patting Emma's back again.

"Ok, great. How old would you say she is? About two?" Ruby asked, already working on filling out the form.

"I wouldn't put her past 18 months, tops," Regina says. "And green eyes."

Ruby nods, and continued filling out the form.

"Ok, I'll put this info out and check all reported missing children and I'll be in touch as soon as I know anything," Ruby replied.

"Wow. Apparently Miss Swan was right. You do know what you're doing."

"Thank you, Madam Mayor," Ruby says. Regina nods, and turns on her heel out of the station.

Emma cannot believe what's actually happening right now. This has got to be a dream. How can Regina not recognize her? Her frustration just leads to more tears as they walk.

"I think someone is tired," Regina says. She stops walking, and poofs them to her mansion instead. Poofing was unexpected and it felt weird and now Emma's crying harder, once again.

_Why can't I stop this?_

"Shhh, baby, it's alright. Just go to sleep," Regina is rocking her back and forth. Emma's determined not to fall asleep. This is no time for sleeping. She's going to fight it with everything she has.

Suddenly, as if it has a mind of its own, her thumb finds its way into her mouth.

_What the hell?_

Surprisingly enough, it's oddly comforting.

"Oh, baby, don't suck your thumb. It's bad for your teeth," Regina says, gently pulling her thumb back out.

And Emma cries.

Regina waves her hand and magically produces a small yellow pacifier.

_I am NOT putting that thing in my mouth._

Regina taps Emma's lips with it, and she opens her mouth anyway. She didn't want this pacifier, but it's actually more comforting than the thumb. Her eyelids are getting heavy.

_No. No sleep._

Regina's rubbing her back, in slow, soothing circles, and she's done for. She can't keep her eyes open any longer, and she's out.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

When Emma awakes, she's staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. She blinks a few times, and tries to roll on her side. There's a barricade of pillows, and slowly the memories of earlier start to flood back. She's a baby and she's at Regina's. And, apparently, Regina has made her a prison of pillows.

She tries to call out and realizes there's still a damn pacifier in her mouth. She yanks it out and tosses it over the pillow wall. A move she immediately regrets, because she suddenly wants it back.

_Emma! You're not really a baby! You do not need a pacifier._

It's too late. She's bawling again.

Moments later, Regina's back.

"Hi, there, baby," she coos, lifting Emma up. "Are you getting hungry?"

Emma nods, in spite of herself. She guesses she is hungry. Her little tummy is rumbling now. She wonders what she's expected to eat at this age? She can feel she has teeth. She hopes she doesn't have to have a bottle. How long to kids drink from a bottle?

Regina taps her bottom. Ugh, she's wet. She can feel it.

_Oh my God, no! Regina's gonna change my diaper! This is so embarrassing!_

Thankfully, Regina swipes her hand and changes her diaper with magic.

Regina grins. "I wish I had this when Henry was little," she says, and she starts to walk out of the room. She carries Emma down the stairs and into the dining room, where there's a highchair set up. It looks a bit dated, and Emma wonders if it was once Henry's.

Regina places her in the seat and straps her in – which Emma feels is a little unnecessary – and heads to the kitchen to get some food.

A few minutes later, she returns with a plate of sliced cheese, grapes and crackers, and puts it on the tray of the highchair.

Emma grins, thankful that it's not some sort of baby food, and starts shoving it in her mouth. She's actually starving.

"You like this?" Regina asks. "Good. Deputy Lucas called and they haven't found your parents yet, so it looks like you'll be staying with me a little longer."

Emma smiles and shoves a handful of grapes in her mouth.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down baby girl, before you choke," Regina warns.

It's too late. Emma's already choking. She had no idea how little her esophagus must be.

Regina grabs the tray off the highchair and unstraps Emma in a flash, lifting her up. The motion alone dislodges the stuck grapes, but they don't go down, they come back up.

Along with everything else she just ate.

All over herself.

And worse. All over Regina.

_I just puked on Regina._

Emma starts to bawl from embarrassment, and from fear of what Regina's reaction is going to be. She can't imagine she will take being vomited on overly well.

To her surprise, Regina just rubs her back. "It's alright. You're okay" Regina says, as she makes her way out of the dining room and back up the stairs, and carries Emma into the bathroom.

Emma's still sniffling with a big pout when Regina puts her on the floor and starts the tub.

_Oh my God, she's gonna give me a bath._

Emma watches in confusion as Regina starts unbuttoning her own vomit-laden blouse and tosses it into the hamper behind her.

_Oh, God, she's gonna get in the bath with me!_

Emma's too freaked out to even react, and oddly distracted by Regina's breasts under her black lacy bra. She can't stop staring, even as Regina starts unzipping her fuzzy little feetie sleeper.

Before she can tear her eyes away, Regina notices where she's staring. And she's mortified.

Regina smirks. "There's nothing in these for you, baby girl."

_Oh, she thinks I want milk._

At first Emma's embarrassed about that, but the she realizes she should really be relieved. Babies stare at boobs. Neal does it all the time. Regina doesn't think there's anything weird about it. Emma wonders if she could get away with copping a feel, but decides that would be inappropriate, since she really isn't a baby.

Damn her conscience.

Regina stops the water before the tub is even halfway filled, and turns back to Emma, taking her diaper off.

"Do not pee on my floor," Regina warns, as she tests the water and then lifts Emma into the tub.

To Emma's relief, she doesn't get in with her. She's not sure she could handle that embarrassment. She realizes Regina just took off her shirt because it was covered in puke, and she doesn't think it's weird to be half naked in front of her because she's just a baby.

"My son used to pee on the floor every time I took his diaper off," Regina says with a laugh as she starts to wash Emma with a soft cloth.

Emma smiles in spite of herself. She can't help but smile when she hears stories about Henry when he was little – especially embarrassing ones.

"But that's really more of a boy thing," Regina continued. Emma wonders if all adults talk to babies like this. She's never really had much experience with babies, other than Neal. Mary Margaret talks to him all the time, but Emma had assumed that was a Snow White thing. Maybe not.

"My son's in New York right now," Regina sighs as she scoops warm water in hand and pours it over Emma's hair. "With his other mother, and his family. They didn't think to invite me. Lucky for you, I guess, or who knows whose care you might have ended up in."

Emma just stares at Regina with wide eyes. She'd had no idea Regina wanted to go with them. Was she jealous? Maybe it wasn't so much wanting to go with them, as not wanting to be left behind. Suddenly, Emma feels like an ass. No wonder Regina had tried to make her reconsider leaving. It had nothing to do with Ruby not being ready, she just didn't want to be left alone for two weeks.

Emma wants to tell her she's sorry and she didn't know, but everything she tries to say is just coming out as incoherent babbling. And Regina's grinning at her.

"You're quite a talkative little girl," she comments. "Too bad I don't speak gibberish. Maybe you can try my name. Can you say 'Regina'?"

_Oh, shit. Regina, I don't even know what I can say. Way to put me on the spot._

But she tries. "Nnn… nnnn…."

_What the hell? Why am I starting with the 'n'? Come on, Emma, get it together._

"Re-gi-na," Regina says, breaking it down.

_Yeah. I know. Give me a second._

_Let's try the 'R'._

"Www…"

_Ok, R's not happening, apparently._

"Regina," Regina says again. "Come on, baby girl, you can do it. Regina."

_Maybe I can get out Gina. Maybe that will be good enough._

"Nnnn…"

_'N' again? Seriously. Whatever, I'm going with it._

"Nnn… Nina?"

_Ugh._

Regina grins. "Good girl!"

Emma stares at her. She's happy with Nina?  _Really?_ Emma figures she shouldn't question it, because Regina seems thrilled, and her smile makes Emma smile.

"Nina!" Emma exclaims, laughing.

Regina laughs too, as she pulls the plug and lets the water drain from the tub. In spite of herself, Emma suddenly finds this extremely interesting, and can't stop watching the water spin down the drain and laughing.

Regina scoops her back up and sets her on her feet on the floor, wrapping her in a big fluffy white towel. It feels snuggly against her skin and she smiles again, barely aware of the incoherent gibberish that's still escaping her lips. Regina loves it, apparently, because she laughs like Emma's telling jokes or something.

Regina stands and starts walking across the hall, Emma tagging behind. She's pretty impressed by her ability to keep up, on these little legs.

Regina pulls a clean shirt from her closet and puts it on, while Emma watches in mild disappointment. She kind of liked Regina walking around in her bra. Her thoughts are cut short, however, when she feels a wetness trickling down her legs.

_Oh, shit!_

She's peeing on the floor of Regina's bedroom and she can't stop it.

_Oh, she's gonna kill me!_

Emma starts to cry. Regina spins around and sees the puddle around Emma's feet and sighs.

"Seriously, child?" she asks, but to Emma's surprise, she doesn't sound mad at all. "I  _just_  bathed you. I supposed this is my fault though."

Regina waves her and, and in an instant, the puddle is gone and Emma's legs are dry and she's in a new diaper. She never thought she would feel so relieved to be in a diaper, but right now, she is.

Regina holds out her palm and a little blue and white onesie appears.

"This was my son's, when he was a baby. I hope you don't mind the hand-me-down," she says, as she pulls it over Emma's head, and fastens the bottom between her legs. Emma doesn't mind at all. What mother can say she got hand-me-downs from her son when  _he_  was a baby.

Regina steps over to her dresser for a moment, and then returns with a comb and a hair elastic. She combs Emma's little blond curls to the top of her head and secures them in a little poufy ponytail.

"Cute," Regina says, bopping Emma on her nose, which makes her burst into giggles again.

Emma thinks she likes Regina like this. It's a side of her she's never seen before, and she realizes this is the Regina Henry had, growing up. She had given him up to give him his best chance, and regardless of the fact that he was adopted by the Evil Queen, Emma knows for sure, now, he really did have his best chance with Regina.

She can't wait till she's back to normal, to tell her.

Emma's tummy is grumbling again, and instinctively her hands go there, and she looks up at Regina. "Hun-wy, Nina," she says. Apparently hungry is a word she can say. Well, sort of.

"I bet you are," Regina says, picking her up, again. "Maybe we'll try eating a little slower, this time?"

Emma nods, and puts her head down on Regina's shoulder as she carries her back down the stairs.

Regina puts her back in the highchair, and gets her a new plate of the same foods, and Emma makes a concentrated effort to eat slower, and less at a time.

"Good girl," Regina says, as soon as Emma has cleared her plate. Emma can't help but grin again. She likes this praise from Regina. But she's yawning again as Regina lifts her back out of the highchair.

_Holy hell, being a baby is exhausting!_

Regina carries her into the living room and sits down with her, so that she's laying facing her, her head on Regina's chest. Regina opens her hand and produces the pacifier again, and Emma grabs it from her and puts it in her mouth without a second thought.

And now Regina's rubbing her back again. It's her weakness, and she wonders if Regina knows it. It's mere moments before Emma's asleep, once again.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Emma wakes up in her pillow-laden baby jail yet again. She's determined not to freak out this time. She's not going to cry. She's not a baby. Well, she  _is_ , but she's not. She takes the pacifier out of her mouth and places it beside her, rather than throwing it away – just in case – and sits up.

The pillows are only on either side of her, none at her feet, so she has an easy exit when the time comes. But first, there's something she needs to do: talk.

She's said 'Regina' and 'hungry'… well, sort of. And 'Mama'. Mama's not that far off from Emma. She wonders if she can say her name. If she can, maybe she can tell Regina who she is, and be back to herself in no time, assuming Regina knows how to fix it.

She focuses all her concentration on making her mouth form the word.

"Umma."

_Ugh. No. I'll try again._

"Uh – uh- umma."

_Seriously? I literally could not have an easier name, and I can't say it. I'm the worst baby ever._

Emma catches herself pouting and tries to stop. Maybe she can say something else. Perhaps 'magic'?

 _"_ Ashic."

_Yeah, Regina's not gonna get that. Try again._

"Ashhh … Ashic. Shit."

_Oh, great, well at least I can swear._

Emma's had about enough of trying to talk. She's finding her attention span is incredibly short, and she decides perhaps it's time to break free from baby jail instead.

She scoots forward on her butt to the edge of the bed and looks down. It doesn't look that far, really. And she's got a diaper on. If she could slide off and land on her butt, she should be good to go. The door is open, so she just needs to head down the stairs and find Regina.  _Then_  maybe Regina will realize that she's not a real baby and figure out something is up.

Yes, this is a good plan, she's sure.

She rocks a few times, getting the momentum to propel herself off the bed, but once she's in motion, she realizes her trajectory is a little off and instead of landing on her padded behind, she lands smack down on her forehead. The rest of her body topples over her and she's on her back.

And screaming.

"Oh!" Regina cries, as she runs into the room and picks Emma up, holding her tight and cradling her head.

"Oh, baby, oh, it's okay," she says. She's bouncing her, but even Regina's voice and touch aren't calming Emma now.

She wails even louder.

She's didn't even hurt  _that_ bad, but it scared the crap out of her and she just can't seem to make herself stop screaming.

Despite her wailing, Regina sits down with Emma on her lap and checks her head and body for any signs of serious injury. She finds none, and pulls Emma close again, holding her head against her shoulder. "You're okay, baby, you're okay," she repeats over and over until Emma finally calms down. Her wails turn to whimpers and double-breaths until finally she's quiet.

"I guess I need to make you a safer bed, don't I?" Regina asks. Emma doesn't want her to blame herself for this - it was Emma who decided to jump off the bed - so she snuggles her face in closer to Regina's neck, hoping she understands from the gesture that Emma doesn't blame her.

"Now, how about some dinner?" Regina asks.

_Oh, hell yes!_

Emma grins and nods, and Regina carries her back downstairs and puts her back in that highchair. She hands her some toy cars to play with on the tray while she prepares dinner.

"These belonged to my son," she smiles, as she turns to leave the room. Emma stares at the cars for a moment, quite determined  _not_  to play with them. But, she finds she gets bored extremely quickly, so she grabs two cars and starts smashing them together.

_Huh. More fun than I expected._

She continues smashing cars, a couple of them meeting untimely ends as they fly over the edge of the tray to their deaths below, but Emma doesn't care. She just giggles and picks up a new car to smash.

When Regina returns, she picks up the remaining cars and replaces them with a plastic plate holding a grilled cheese sandwich – the crusts gone and cut into small squares – along with apple slices and cut up strawberries, and a plastic cup of juice with a sippy lid.

"I don't know what kind of cup you drink from, but we'll give this a try, alright?" she says as she sits. She has some sort of chicken and salad on her own plate, and Emma is intrigued, but she forces herself to focus on her own meal instead.

She eats the grilled cheese and strawberries quickly, but has no interest in the apple slices. She would have preferred fries. She picks one up and throws in on the floor, to make a point, and then stares at Regina, wondering what she will do.

"Sweetheart, we don't throw food on the floor," Regina says, leaning to pick up the apple slice, and place it on the table.

Emma picks up another slice, and holds it out to Regina. "Ucky."

"You don't like apples?" Regina asks.

_I don't WANT apples._

Emma throws the apple slice on the table this time.

"Alight," Regina sighs, "please stop throwing food. What would you like instead?"

_Fries. NO! Onion rings. Not that Regina would give me either, even if I could say it._

Emma doesn't know what to do, but she's still hungry. She looks at Regina's plate again. That chicken looks so good.

Regina notices and laughs. She cuts off a small piece, and holds the fork up to Emma. "You want to try what I'm having?"

Emma grins and nods, and Regina moves the fork to her mouth.

_Oh, my God, she's feeding me._

Emma laughs, and she's not sure if it's the baby in her elated because she got her way, or the adult in her laughing at the ridiculousness of this whole situation. She guesses it's likely a mix of both.

Either way, Regina's smiling and she keeps giving Emma bites of her chicken, in between her own bites, and Emma starts to wonder what Regina will think of all of this once she realizes this lost little baby has been her all along.

Maybe she'll be able to convince Regina to feed her again. Only this time, strawberries and whip cream. Naked. In the bath tub.

_Oh, God, what am I thinking?_

Not that these are the first time thoughts like this have crossed her mind.

Emma decides she needs to distract herself, so she picks up her cup and inspects it. She's not sure about it, as she puts the little spout to her mouth and tries to drink. It comes out excruciatingly slow and she doesn't like it.

She puts the cup down and tries to pry the lid off herself. Regina moves to stop her, but it's too late, the lid flies off and juice goes everywhere.

_Shit._

"Shit!"

_Oh, shit, I said it out loud._

Emma looks at Regina, who momentarily looks shocked, but then bursts out laughing. Emma laughs, too, imagining what could possibly be going through Regina's head mind now as she looks at this swearing baby, covered head to toe in apple juice.

"Oh, my, never a dull moment, is there? I forgot what having a toddler was like," Regina comments, as she wipes Emma's face with her napkin. "Only, my son never swore." She sounds slightly scolding, but her voice is still light and she's still smiling, so Emma's not too worried. After all, she'd already puked on her and peed on her floor… what's a little swearing and spilled juice?

Regina lifts her out of the highchair and pulls off her juice-soaked onesie. She seems to hesitate for a moment, and then says, "that's two outfits in one day. You're fine in your diaper until bedtime."

She carries Emma into the living room, and Emma snuggles against her. Regina's in a sleeveless blouse, and Emma likes the feel of her bare arms against her own bare skin. Regina sets her down on the couch, and moves to walk away and Emma immediately starts to panic.

"Nina! Nina!"

"Baby, I'm not going anywhere, I was just going to put on some cartoons for you."

_No, this is no time for cartoons!_

"Nina!" Emma cries again, pouting and holding up her arms.

Regina sighs and sits down, petting her soft little blonde curls. "Alright, I'm right here, don't cry."

Emma's not planning on crying. She's determined to tell Regina what happened, even with her limited vocabulary.

"Nina…" Emma says, and then points to herself, "Umma."

_Ugh. Still 'Umma'. Please get this, Regina!_

"No, sweetie, Ruby hasn't found your Mama yet," Regina says, still stroking her hair. Emma supposes 'umma' probably does sound more like 'mama' than 'Emma', especially when Regina's not thinking of Emma.

But she's not giving up.

She points to herself again. "Ashic… um… me."

_Oh! 'Me'! That's a new one._

"What are you trying to tell me, baby?"

"Me… ashic… umma."

Regina shakes her head. "I wish I could understand you, baby girl."

Emma sighs and slumps against her.

"But we'll find your Mama soon, don't worry."

That's not what Emma's worried about. She can feel tears wanting to fall, but she's determined to fight them off this time. She's had enough crying to last her a lifetime, by this point. She crawls up on to Regina's lap and puts her head on her chest. This feels good. No need to cry right now.

"You are quite the cuddly little girl," Regina comments, stroking the bare skin on Emma's back with her hand. Emma can't help but revel in how good that feels. "My son wasn't a cuddler by this age. He was so independent. He still is. I always did wonder if it would be different with a baby girl. Don't get me wrong, I love my son more than anything, but… I always wondered what it would be like to have a daughter."

Regina's voice sounds so wistful, and Emma can't help but notice she'd just tried to validate her feelings to a baby, like she thought she was going to be judged. She's probably judging herself, Emma acknowledges. Afterall, no one is as hard on Regina as she is on her own self.

"Henry always wanted a brother or a sister but… well, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the greatest mother to him. How many more kids did I need to bring in to that?"

_What? Regina, you're the best mother._

Emma wants to cry, but not for herself this time, for Regina. She had no idea how insecure she was in her relationship with Henry. In a way, Emma feels a little bad that Regina is unknowingly confessing things to her that she probably wouldn't want her to know, but in a way, she's also grateful. Regina is so closed off, and maybe with this new knowledge, Emma could change her approach with her in the future.

"I suppose it's not too late for his other mother, though," Regina sighs. "One more thing she can give him that I can't."

_Regina, you've given him everything. Everything._

"But, what good is it to worry about that now, right?" Regina asks, suddenly changing her tone to a much lighter one. Emma wonders if she is consciously forcing herself out of a destructive line of thinking. "Right now, my son is happy on a family vacation, and my focus is on you, baby girl."

Emma smiles.

She likes having Regina's attention.

Maybe she'll be able to find a way to keep it, after this whole mishap is over.

A girl can hope, right?

 


	4. Chapter 4

Emma wakes up. Pillow jail. Again. This one is different though. The bed is different and the pillows are different and on my God why is it so dark?

_Get it together, Swan. You are not afraid of the dark!_

Maybe not. But apparently in baby form, she is.

She starts to cry, and she soon realizes what's different about this baby jail. This jail only has pillows on one side. The other side is Regina. She's not in the guestroom, she's in Regina's bedroom. In Regina's bed. With Regina.

_Oh my God!_

"Shh, shh, it's alright, Baby Girl," Regina coos, half-awake, as she pulls Emma close. Emma rolls, and her head lays on Regina's chest. One of her little arms drapes over one of Regina's breasts.

_Haha._

_Oh God._

_She's gonna murder me when she finds out._

Emma wonders if maybe she'll just be able to convince her that she was just a baby with the mind of a baby this entire time, as she snuggles in closer to Regina's breast. She hopes so, what with the messes she's been making, all the crying, and the boob staring. Regina will never let her live any of this down, she's sure.

Emma likes cuddling, though. She's been sleeping alone far too long. She and Regina are practically friends now. Would it be so wrong to ask to cuddle when she's back to normal?

She drifts back off to sleep, and when she wakes up again, it's morning. She's glad it's bright in the room again. Regina's already awake and stroking her little blonde curls. Emma smiles up at her. "Nina!"

"Good morning, Baby!" Regina smiles. Emma can't remember the last time she's seen her this genuinely happy. Regina's been through so much shit lately, Emma can't help but think how she'll be devastated all over again once she reverts back into an adult. She wishes she could make her smile like this as her normal self. She decides then and there, she's going to find a way to do just that.

"Someone's stinky," Regina says, patting Emma's diaper-laden butt.

_Oh, no._

She hadn't noticed until Regina pointed it out, but she does stink.

_This is so embarrassing._

And she starts to cry.

_Again, with the crying? Seriously?_

"Don't cry, it's alright," Regina waves a hand and changes her diaper magically again. Emma giggles, and thinks about how if she ever decides to have another baby, she's never changing a diaper the old-fashioned way.

Emma sits up and pats her little tummy. "Hun-wy!" she announces.

"Oh, are you now?" Regina grins. "Well, we need to stop by the Sheriff's station, so Ruby can get a picture of you to put out on your missing person's report. I suppose we can make a stop at Granny's first. I believe they have a kid's menu."

Emma smiles and nods.

Regina stands and carries her to her walk-in closet, and puts her back on the floor as she starts picking out her outfit for the day. Emma watches in amazement as Regina starts to strip down right in front of her. She forces herself to tear her eyes away when Regina begins to remove her underwear. Baby or not, Emma knows that watching her get naked is a violation of her privacy.

Damn her conscience, again.

Regina looks down at Emma and laughs at the sight of the little toddler's face buried in her hands. Moments later, she speaks. "I'm decent, you can look again."

Emma glances up to see that Regina is indeed dressed again. She crouches down to pick Emma back up, and carries her back out to the bedroom, and sits her on the bed, to change her into a white long-sleeved onesie and a pair of denim overalls with an embroidered dump truck on the front pocket.

_Henry, you were styling in your day._

"Shall we?" Regina says, as she picks Emma up and starts walking out of the room, as if Emma had a choice in the matter. "My car is still downtown," she remarks, "so we'll walk. It's a beautiful day."

It's not an overly long walk to Granny's, but Emma's still amazed that Regina can pull it off in heels, while carrying a baby. She also notes how Regina is completely unfazed by the odd looks she's getting from random passers-by on the streets. She wonders how many people are thinking the Mayor has adopted another child. The looks of horror Emma keeps seeing tell her the answer is most of them.

"This must be your little foundling," Granny says, as Regina enters the diner. Regina takes Emma right up to the counter to show her off.

"Yes. I talked to Ruby this morning and she's having no luck at all. How on earth does a baby get lost in a town like Storybrooke?" Regina shakes her head.

Granny tickles Emma's cheek and Emma giggles. "Well, at least she's in good hands," Granny comments, with a warm smile.

"You think so?" Regina asks, and Emma's heart breaks at the absolute uncertainty in her voice.

"Of course. I remember you with Henry when he was little. You did great."

"Thanks to some advice from you, I recall."

"We all need help from time to time," Granny says.

Regina smiles and nods and takes Emma over to a booth. She glances around for a moment and sighs, and Emma wonders what's wrong.

"How does this diner not have any highchairs?" Regina asks herself out loud, and then finally sits, with Emma on her lap, holding her around her waist. "You're going to have to sit with me, Baby Girl."

_Not gonna be a problem, Regina. I'd sit on your lap all day if you let me._

When the waitress arrives, Regina orders Emma some pancakes and juice off the kids menu, and just a coffee for herself. Emma can't figure out how she gets through her day skipping breakfast. Emma can't function until she eats, or she's doomed to spend the rest of the day thinking about food.

By the time the pancakes arrive, Emma is practically  _starving_. Regina picks up a fork and knife and starts cutting them up, but Emma doesn't want to wait, and starts patting Regina's hands impatiently, trying to get her to move them out of the way.

Regina completely misinterprets, and thinks Emma is trying to tell her to feed her. She lifts the fork up to Emma's mouth, and Emma eagerly takes the bite of pancake.

_Meh, this is good, too._

It's easier to stay clean when Regina is feeding her, and she's sure Regina is well aware of this as well. Emma can't help but think how good babies really have it. She kind of likes being like this, though she still has no desire to stay this way for ever.

When she's nearly done with the pancakes, an uninvited guest sits down opposite them in the booth.

"Dr. Whale," Regina acknowledges, curtly.

"Please tell me you did not adopt another child," Whale sighs.

Emma can feel Regina stiffen. "Not that it's any of your business, but no, I didn't."

Whale looks visibly relieved. Emma's pretty sure he's exaggerating, for dramatic effect. She wants to punch him. "Good."

"Excuse me, but what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Regina demands.

"Well, you struggled with Henry, and look how well that whole situation turned out. I would have just thought you learned your lesson the first time around."

Emma waits for Regina to gives some biting comment, but none comes. Whale smirks as he stands to leave, and Emma squirms in Regina's arms, trying to get a look at her face. When she does, she sees the years of hurt coming to the surface in Regina's dark eyes. She's staring at the door as Whale leaves, looking like a wounded child.

Emma wishes she could talk right now, and tell her Whale's an idiot, among other choice words she would have for him, but she's trapped by the limitations of her toddler body, so she does the next best thing she can think of.

She pulls herself up un Regina's lap and wraps her little arms around her neck, in as tight of a hug as her tiny body will allow.

Regina gasps in surprise, and then smiles, returning the hug. She squeezes Emma tight – maybe a little too tight, but Emma allows it because she can tell Regina really, really needs it right now.

"At least you seem to like me," Regina whispers close to Emma's ear, and Emma's heart breaks all over again.

As they embrace, Emma can't help but think how quickly Granny's kind words were erased by Whale's remarks. She's starting to finally get it. Regina has a hard time accepting compliments and praise, but readily accepts criticism because it reflects the way she looks at herself. Emma's determined to help her turn that around… somehow.

"Come on, Baby Girl," Regina sighs, lifting her up and leaving money on the table to pay for breakfast. Emma notes that Regina barely touched her coffee, and feels a little bad that she spent the entire time feeding her instead. Why couldn't Whale – or practically everyone else for that matter – see things like that? She knew they would all see Regina as the Evil Queen forever, despite anything and everything Regina did to prove she wasn't that person anymore. It makes Emma want to cry.

For her part, Regina seems to brush it all away as she stepped outside again. "Off to the Sheriff's station, Baby Girl," she smiles. "Ruby needs to get a picture of your beautiful little face, to help us find your parents."

When they enter the police station, Ruby was just hanging up the phone, and she looks over at Regina with panic in her eyes.

"What?" Regina asks, instinctively holding Emma tighter.

"That was David," Ruby says. "He just called to talk to Emma. Apparently she didn't leave for New York yesterday. She told them she was staying here for a few days to make sure that I had a handle on everything. They've been calling her cell and it's going straight to voicemail."

"I thought she left right after the city council meeting," Regina says, and Emma can hear the distinct panic in her voice.

_Oh, maybe she does care._

"I had tried to convince her to wait a couple days, but she said you would be fine."

"David said she called right after the meeting, and they haven't heard from her again since. I'm gonna go check her apartment now," Ruby says, grabbing her phone and her keys from her desk.

"I'm coming with you," Regina says.

"Regina, you don't have to. You've got your hands full already," Ruby says, nodding at little Emma.

"If something happened, it's my fault," Regina replies, "I asked her to wait a couple days. I'm going with you."

Ruby just nods.

Emma hates how worried they are, but she's relieved that they are at least now aware that she's missing. How long could it take to put two and two together?

_Please, figure this out!_

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Ruby tries to call Emma's cell on the short walk from the Sheriff's station to the Charmings' loft. "Straight to voicemail," she says, "either it's off, or dead."

Regina nods as she absently rubs Emma's back. Emma wishes there were some way to tell them has happened and what's going on. She just hopes that they can figure it out.

"Oh! I never even thought…." Ruby says, as she stops right outside the door to the building, and turns to Regina. "I don't have keys!"

_Don't worry, the door's open._

Regina shrugs. "I have magic."

Ruby nods, and leads the way up the stairs. When they are almost at the top, Regina grabs Ruby's arm. "Wait," she says, suddenly handing Emma off to Ruby, "I feel magic here."

Ruby nods, and holds onto Emma tight, as Regina steps around them and pushes the half-open door the rest of the way, and steps over the toppled over pillow mountain Emma had left behind when she made her escape yesterday morning.

Regina glances around the apartment for a moment, and breathes deep, before turning back to Ruby. "It's alright, it's Emma's magic."

Ruby steps inside, and Emma reaches her arms out for Regina again. Regina takes her back, and starts wandering around the lower level of the loft, while Ruby heads up the stairs.

"There's nothing down here," Regina calls up, shaking her head in frustration. "You have anything up there?"

"Uh… Emma's suitcase is still here," Ruby says, stepping over to the stairs and looking down. "And her keys are on the nightstand. The floor's a mess."

"Well, that doesn't necessarily mean anything," Regina says, as she heads up the stairs to join Ruby.

_Excuse you, Regina. I know how to clean up after myself._

"And her phone is smashed."

_Oh, shit. I forgot about that._

Upstairs, Regina makes a cursory glance around the room, while Emma squirms like crazy to free herself from Regina's grip.

"I know you're tired, baby, but this is important," Regina sighs, as she tries to hold on to Emma tighter.

_I'm not tired! Let me down!_

"Dow! Dow!" Emma cries, pointing at the floor. Regina sighs again, a little more exasperated this time, and finally lets her down. Emma crawls quickly over to the wardrobe and picks up the locket, holding it up to Regina.

"Nina!" she says, bouncing a little on her knees, to express the urgency.

"What do you have there?" Regina reaches down and takes the locket. She gasps as her fingers make contact with the metal.

"What is it?" Ruby asks.

"Magic," Regina says. "A lot. All concentrated on this locket." Regina looks carefully at the pictures inside, and then flips it over. "E.S."

"Emma Swan," Ruby nods. "Can you tell what kind of magic she used? Was it a spell or something?"

Regina shakes her head. "No idea. I can just sense the remnants. Whatever it was, it was strong."

"Okay," Ruby nods, "I'm going to go check the underground parking and see if her car is still there. You wait here, okay?"

Regina nods and drops the locket into the pocket of her pants. "If you don't find anything there, we can take this to Gold, and see if he can tell what kind of spell she used."

Ruby nods and takes off down the stairs. Regina stares after her, and then sighs the moment she leaves the loft. "Emma, what the hell did you do?" Regina wonders out loud.

"Nina!" Emma whines from the floor. Regina turns and scoops her back up from her place next to her discarded black bra. Emma points down at the clothes, hoping Regina might recognize her outfit from the day before. Regina chuckles lightly as she strokes Emma's hair. "Yes, darling, I see the mess. Emma's housekeeping standards aren't quite as high as mine."

_Regina, what the hell? Focus, woman!_

Regina looks down again, and her eyebrows furrow in confusion.

_Please tell me you're getting it!_

Regina looks back and forth between the bra and jeans laying on the floor for a few moments, and suddenly her mouth opens slightly, with a look of mild shock. Or realization. "Oh, my God," she whispers, and turns her head back to look at the baby girl in her arms. She walks over to sit down on Emma's bed, and sets Little Emma down on her lap, so she can look at her face.

A smile spreads across Regina's lips as she looks into Emma's green eyes. "Miss Swan! That's what you deemed appropriate to wear to a city council meeting?"

Emma grins, remembering the exact words Regina had said to her right before the meeting, the morning before.

"Your jeans were ripped and I could see your black bra right through your tank top," Regina continues, smirking. "A white tank top, which is notably absent from this pile of clothes," she says, gesturing to the clothing on the floor, "which, oddly enough, was just like the one I found  _you_  wandering around in, Baby Girl… Emma."

_Oh, thank God! I knew you'd get it._

Emma giggles.

"What on earth have you done to yourself, Miss Swan?" Regina asks, shaking her head.

Emma points at Regina's pocket, and tries to reach for it, to get the locket, but Regina doesn't seem to notice what she's trying to tell her.

_Regina! Pay attention!_

"You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" Regina sighs.

_Yes! I do!_

"That's alright. I'll figure this out," she promises, holding Emma close as she stands again. Emma's momentarily confused, wondering why Regina is still hugging her, now that she knows who she is. Then it hits her: Regina still thinks she's an actual 18-month-old. She has no idea her adult mind is still trapped inside this little body.

_Well, we're halfway there, at least._

"Her car's still there," Ruby calls, as she re-enters the loft and starts heading up the stairs, "nothing out of the ordinary…. Why are you smiling?"

Regina laughs, and shakes her head. "Because I found Emma," she says, motioning towards the baby girl on her lap with her eyes.

"No… no way," Ruby says, half a smile creeping up on her lips.

"I'm afraid so. I don't know how she did it, but this is Emma. I guess it wasn't  _you_  I should have been worried about, Miss Lucas."

"Oh my God," Ruby says, as she bursts out laughing.

_Okay, cool it guys. It's not THAT funny._

"What do I tell her parents?"

Regina bites at her bottom lip, looking back at Emma for a moment. "Just tell them… that we found her, and she's fine. I'll take her to Gold and see how to go about getting this reversed. No need to worry them unnecessarily on their family vacation, right?"

"And what exactly should I say she was doing during her little hiatus?" Ruby asks, still unable to get her laughter completely under control.

Regina thinks for a moment. "I don't know. Tell them she was sleeping off a hangover, or something."

_Thanks, Regina._

"I'm going to head over to see Gold now," Regina says, as she heads back to the stairs.

"Alright," Ruby nods, as she pulls out her phone to call David back. "Keep me posted."

"Will do, Deputy," Regina nods.

"Emma, I cannot…." Regina laughs again and shakes her head as she makes her way out of the building. Emma stares at her, bewildered. "You just wait until you're back to normal. You're never going to believe this."

_Oh, don't worry, I'm sure I will._

Regina rubs Emma's back as she heads over to Gold's. Even without the pacifier, Emma passes out before they even reach the shop. Apparently, she was tired after all.

When she opens her eyes again, she's back at Regina's, curled up beside her on the couch. Regina's on the phone. Emma lies still and just listens.

"I gave Gold the locket, he's going to try to determine what kind of spell she used."

_Oh, she must be talking to Ruby._

"Apparently, there are several different age reversal spells... well, I doubt it was intentional, Emma's magic can be unpredictable at times… alright, Miss Lucas, I'll keep you updated."

Emma sits up as Regina ends the call. "Hello, again, Emma," Regina says, as Emma climbs back onto her lap, testing her limits. She's not sure what Gold had said while she was sleeping, and she wants to know if Regina knows she's self-aware yet.

"Nina," Emma coos, with a small smile, as she drops her head onto Regina's chest and reaches up to start playing with her necklace with one little hand.

"You're cute at this age, you know," Regina says, bopping her on the nose with one finger. "Too bad you won't remember any of this. You'll never believe how sweet I was to you, I'm sure. Then again, maybe it's for the best, since I doubt you'd ever let me live down calling you cute."

Emma snuggles in closer to Regina.

_She called me cute._

_And she's not onto me. She thinks I'm an actual baby, still._

_Cute little baby Emma._

Emma smiles to herself, and secretly hopes that it takes a few days for Gold to come up with a solution. She's not ready to lose this sweet side of Regina just yet. There's a chance she won't see it again once she's back to normal, and she's determined to milk it for all it's worth.

And she's quite sure at this point that she'll be able to get away with it.


	6. Chapter 6

Regina's phone rings again. Emma maintains her spot on Regina's lap, playing with her necklace – she can't resist it, it's just  _so_  shiny - as Regina answers the call.

"Henry!" Regina says into the phone, smiling, "how's New York?"

There's a pause, and Emma watches as Regina smiles and nods along to whatever Henry is telling her over the phone. Emma knows Henry loves New York, and he's likely rambling on a mile a minute about everything they've done so far. A part of her wishes she was there with them right now, but another part is happy right where she is.

"Oh, well, Emma broke her phone, apparently," Regina says, after minutes of not talking. Emma guesses that Henry just asked her why she wasn't answering any of their calls or texts. At least it wasn't a lie, as Emma had very much broken her phone. She was sure she would regret that once she was returned to normal, but right now, it was useless to her and she didn't really care.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later, Henry. And yes, I'll tell Emma you called. I will see her very soon. I love you."

Emma looks up at Regina, expectantly, as she ends the call.

"That was Henry," Regina says.

_Yeah, no shit._

"He told me to tell you he loves you. I know you don't know what I'm talking about, but I promised him I would."

Emma knows Regina doesn't take promises made to Henry lightly. She wonders if Regina still feels like their relationship is fragile. She wonders if Regina can even see how much Henry truly loves her.

Regina sighs. "Emma… I probably will never tell you this when you're back to normal, but… I'm sorry I talked you out of going to New York. I just… I just didn't want to be here, alone. Earlier today, that thing with Whale… what you don't get is, that's my life. You don't see it because people don't treat me like that when you're around to see it. I wish you could see and understand what really goes on."

Emma looks up at Regina, and puts her hand on her cheek. "Nina…" she says, because there's nothing else she can really say at this point.

Regina smiles, but Emma can still see the sadness there. "I don't know what on earth you see in me, Emma. I've never understood why you defend me so relentlessly, when I've done nothing to deserve it. I know I should thank you for it, but you know I'm too proud to do that," Regina laughs, but she doesn't sound happy.

Emma stares up at Regina, and suddenly she wishes Gold would call right this second with a reversal spell. Then, when she's back to normal, she will pull Regina into a tight hug and never let her go, ever.

Lord knows the woman needs it.

But Gold doesn't call, so Emma decides to add 'hug Regina' to her to-do list.

_1._ _Hug Regina_

_2._ _Punch Whale_

_3._ _Hug Regina again_

_4._ _Maybe punch Whale again, for good measure_

_Yes. Perfect._

Emma giggles to herself as she thinks about it, and Regina smiles at her, an actual, genuine smile.

"You look so much like Henry when you smile," Regina says, wistfully. "I don't know how I didn't see it before. I didn't think he looked like you, but I see it now."

Emma blinks up at her. Henry doesn't look like her, she's sure, because Henry still looks innocent, not hard and jaded like she does. She hopes he always looks so innocent.

"Henry told me you had a family until you were three," Regina continues, as she strokes Emma's soft little cheek. "I'm assuming that's the couple in your locket? They were stupid to give you up, Emma. I don't know how anyone could have."

Suddenly, Emma feels like she's going to cry. She leans forward and puts her head on Regina's chest, so Regina can't see her face. She never knew she needed the validation of someone looking at her at this age and saying they couldn't see how anyone would give her up.

She couldn't wait until she was normal to hug Regina. She needed to hug her now. Regina seems to sense it, and she hugs Emma first, and plants a warm kiss right on her forehead. Emma grins. Kisses from Regina. She likes that.

Their sweet moment is cut short by Emma's little tummy grumbling again.

"Lunch time?" Regina suggests. Emma nods, happily. At least this time, it's just the two of them, and no one was going to interrupt and upset Regina, unlike breakfast this morning. No, all meal-ruining in this house came from Emma alone. She wonders if she can get through a meal without vomiting or spilling anything.

Regina puts Emma back in Henry's highchair and gives her the cars again.

_Ugh, cars again?_

They were fun last night. They're boring now. She crashes them together half-heartedly, and glances towards the kitchen. She can see Regina past the doorway, and she wants to get her attention again. She could call her, but common sense leaves her, and she decides to throw a car instead.

The first one lands on the end of the table and skitters off the edge, landing on the seat of a chair, and making almost no noise.

_Must try again._

The second throw is much better. It connects with the wall, inches from the doorway, with a loud smack. Emma watches a small chunk of drywall fall to the ground, leaving a hole about an inch in diameter.

_Shit._

She hadn't expected that. Any sense of logic seemed to be lost in this toddler brain of hers. But Regina definitely heard the noise, and she's headed this way. Emma got her attention, though she's not sure why she wanted it in the first place.

Regina looks at Emma, and then at the hole in the wall and the telltale red pick-up laying on the ground below it. She looks back at Emma, shocked, and marches over to the highchair, removing the remaining cars from the tray.

Emma didn't want them, but she doesn't want Regina to take them away, either. She starts to cry.

"We don't throw toys," Regina says, firmly. "And I'm leaving that hole for you to fix when you're back to normal."

Regina turns and walks back in to the kitchen, leaving Emma to cry over her lack of toys.

After a few minutes, Emma remembers the green car that had landed on the chair at the end of the table. Regina had taken the red pick-up with her, along with the other cars from the tray, but she didn't know about the green car. Emma wondered how she could get it back, while still strapped in the highchair.

_Magic._

She hadn't felt any of her magic since being reverted, but she also hadn't tried it, either. It was supposed to be innate. Maybe it would work?

She concentrates hard. She can't see the car, which makes it more of a challenge, but after a few moments, she feels the magic start to flow.

_Yeah, bitch! I can do this!_

And she does. Just as Regina enters the dining room with lunch, Emma materializes the green car into her hand, and grins at it, wildly. She doesn't even realize Regina is watching, until she speaks.

"Emma," Regina breathes. Emma jumps and turns to look at Regina, who looks dumbfounded. "You have magic."

Emma drops the car to the floor as she continues to stare at Regina. She isn't sure if Regina is impressed or angry.

Regina cocks her head to the side as she approaches Emma's highchair, and puts her lunch on the tray. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with baby carrots and blueberries. So many fruits and vegetables. Emma isn't used to eating like this.

Regina sits down and smiles, and Emma is relieved that she's not angry.

"Gold asked if you had your magic," Regina explains, "and I said no. I'll have to call him, after lunch, and tell him. He said it could be quicker to revert you, if you still do."

Emma smiles as she starts to eat. She thinks she'd like to get changed back, but maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, either. She wants to hug Regina and punch Whale, but she also likes sleeping in Regina's bed and she doesn't want to give that up, either.

Reverting the spell can wait, she thinks. If it relies on her magic, then she just won't use it.

Yes, this seems like a good plan. Then she can decide when she wants to change back. Maybe she can change back in the middle of the night sometime, while she's cuddled up with Regina.

_Haha. Oh, she'd definitely kill me then!_

Emma tries not to get too far ahead of herself, since she doesn't actually know how this spell can be reversed.

Regina lifts Emma out of the highchair when she's done eating, and takes her to the kitchen to wipe the peanut butter off her face. Emma grins at her, and Regina smiles and shakes her head. "Miss Swan, in twenty four hours you have managed to vomit on me, pee on my floor, and now there is a whole in my dining room wall. You are very lucky you're a toddler right now and that little smile of yours is too adorable to resist, or I'd have to drop you off to Miss Lucas."

Regina's joking, but that last comment hits Emma hard. At eighteen months, no one had ever given Emma back yet. But she's not eighteen months, not really. And she has very real, very vivid memories of families giving her back for things like that. Suddenly, she's terrified, in spite of herself.

Regina's joking now, but how much will she take?

She lunges forward from the counter top she's sitting on, and grabs on to Regina, for dear life.

"Oh, Emma, I was kidding," Regina says, as she wraps her arms tightly around the toddler. "I won't drop you off anywhere, I promise."

Emma feels relieved, as she holds on to Regina tighter. She tries to remind herself that there's really no place for Regina to send her, since Storybrooke doesn't have a foster system, and even if it did, she's not really a foster kid. Regina's stuck with her.

But Emma wonders if she's really getting on Regina's nerves. She'll have to try to be a better baby.

How hard can it be?

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Emma's determined to be a better baby this afternoon. There will be no throwing, no breaking, no erroneous body fluids where they don't belong, no spilling and no swearing.

How hard can it be?

Regina sets her on the living room floor and gives her a box of Henry's old toys. Emma is overwhelmed with excitement on the prospect of what wonders might be in this box, but she forces herself to remain as calm as possible as she toddles over to it.

She loses the erroneous body fluid battle almost immediately when Regina opens the lid – apparently unaware of how much dust it had accumulated – and Emma sneezes, ungracefully. She looks at Regina, panicked, as she can feel the snot on her face.

Regina stops her from wiping it on her clothes, and grabs a tissue. She doesn't look mad though, to Emma's relief. She's still smiling.

_Okay. From now on: Good baby. I can do this._

She reaches into the box and grabs the first thing her fingers touch. It's a transformer action figure.

_Ugh. I don't want this._

She looks at Regina, who's smiling bigger now.

"That was Henry's favourite for a long time," Regina comments. Emma looks back at the toy and supposes she should play with it now.

She sits on the floor, making it walk around in small circles, pouting. This toy is no fun. How could it have been Henry's favourite? He must have been such a lame baby.

_Crap. I just thought my son was a lame baby. I am a terrible baby AND person. What the hell?_

"Is something wrong, Emma?" Regina asks. She's on the couch now, watching her with curiosity, and Emma's confused. What had she done wrong? She was sitting, quietly, calmly, playing. She wasn't crying or breaking anything. She thought that's what being good was?

"Are you feeling okay?" Regina asked, putting her hand on Emma's forehead. Unconsciously, Emma leans into the soft touch. "You don't feel warm," Regina concludes, "but you're not acting like yourself."

Emma looks back at the toy and stands to put it back in the box, and looks back at Regina.

"Come here, Baby," Regina says, with her arms open. Emma smiles and runs into her arms, and Regina pulls her up onto her lap again.

"You don't feel like playing?" Regina asks, as Emma snuggles into her. "That's alright. I'd rather cuddle with you, too. It's been a long time since I've had a baby to snuggle with."

Emma lays her head on Regina's chest as Regina lies back against the arm of the couch, and pulls her feet up. She strokes Emma's back with one hand, as she reaches for her phone with the other. Emma listens as she calls Gold and informs him that Emma does have magic. They agree to meet later this evening.

Emma sighs as Regina ends the call, and her other hand finds its way to Emma's head, and Regina runs her fingers through Emma's soft, blonde curls.

"It probably won't be much longer, Emma," Regina notes, with a hint of sadness in her voice, "Gold is fairly sure which spell you used, and with your magic intact, he thinks he knows how to reverse it."

_No. Regina it's too soon!_

"I guess it's for the best, but I kind of like you like this," Regina continues. "You are much easier to talk to when you just listen, without cutting me off or offering me your advice. Sometimes it's just nice to talk and know you're being heard, you know? Even if you don't understand me."

_No, I didn't know. Crap, Regina, I would have listened to you talk all day if I knew that's what you wanted._

"It's not your fault, though, Emma. No one's ever really listened to me anyway – not my parents, not Snow, not the King - so I'm used to it. I have to say I'm surprised you listened when I asked you not to leave. Of course, given what happened, I wouldn't be surprised if you never listen to me again, but that's okay."

_No, it's not. Ugh, I would give anything to be able to talk right now! But then, I guess, I would just be cutting Regina off anyway. Maybe this actually is better._

"I don't like to tell people things, Emma, but it's easy to tell someone who has no clue, and won't remember," Regina laughs, "but in a way, I almost wish you would remember. It would be, I don't know, kind of a relief if someone could understand me. You think you do, but you don't. It would be nice if you actually could. It would be nice, for once, to not feel utterly alone in this world."

Regina sighs and stops talking. She moves her hand to her own face, and Emma realises that she's crying. She's crying and Emma's little heart is breaking. She hopes Regina remembers what she said about wishing she  _would_ remember, when she grows up and  _does_.

After a few minutes of silence, Regina grabs the remote and puts on a movie. Emma's not even sure what it is, because she's not really paying attention. Regina's rubbing her back and she's falling asleep on her chest. She's gonna miss this so much.

When Emma wakes up, she notes that the movie is over, and Regina hasn't bothered to start another one. She looks up and soon realises why: Regina is asleep.

Emma smiles and puts her head back on Regina's chest. She decides not to wake her. She's just going to lie here and be a good baby.

After a few minutes, she feels Regina's hand move on her back. "Hi, Baby." Regina's voice, raspy from sleep, makes Emma smile and look up. Regina looks at her watch. "Oh, it's almost time to go see Gold."

She sits up and swipes her hand to change Emma's diaper, magically. Emma smiles, thinking that at least Regina will be relieved that she never actually changed her diaper, once she finds out she was herself, this entire time.

"We're running a little late, Baby," Regina says, as she stands, "I didn't plan on falling asleep. So we're going to have to poof to Gold's. I know it scared you last time, but you don't have to worry. It's safe, okay?"

Emma nods and stares at Regina. Regina shakes her head and smiles, before poofing them to Gold's shop. Emma doesn't cry this time.

Gold steps out of the back almost immediately. Emma was asleep last time they were here, and she wishes she was now, too. This shop is overwhelming, there's too much stuff, and even though she knows that she knows Gold, right now, he feels like stranger danger. She buries her face in Regina's neck, and Regina places a soothing hand on the back of her head.

"It's okay, Baby," Regina coos, and Emma can hear Gold's distinct laugh as he walks up.

_Oh, crap, he knows._

"You do know she's completely self-aware, don't you?" Gold asks, in his obnoxiously condescending voice.

_Busted…._

"What do you mean, 'self-aware'?" Regina asks.

"It's means exactly what you think it means," Gold replies, "our Miss Swan's mind is completely intact inside that little toddler head of hers."

"I don't believe you," Regina says, though her voice sounds waveringly unsure, "she can barely talk and she peed on my floor. She's a baby."

"Well, judging by how red her ears are getting right now, she's fully aware of what you just said, and completely embarrassed that you just told me she peed on the floor," Gold points out.

Regina cups her hand under Emma's little face, and pulls her back a little to look at her. Emma can feel her cheeks burning now, and she wants to cry. She avoids Regina's eyes.

"That's you, isn't it, Miss Swan?" Gold asks.

Emma sticks her lip out in a pout, and nods, still avoiding Regina's eyes.

"But, then, why…" Regina lets her voice trail off, as she turns back to look at Gold. To Emma's relief, she doesn't put her down, but rather takes the hand away from under her chin and puts it back on her head, pulling her close again. Emma wonders if she even knows she's doing it, or it's a subconscious move just because she has a baby in her arms.

"She has her adult mind, but she can't force her toddler body to do anything past its own limitations. She tries to talk, it comes out gibberish," Gold explained, "she falls, she cries, she wets her diaper, but there's nothing she can do it stop it. She may have been trying to tell you all along, but she couldn't."

Regina sighs. "She handed me the damn locket," she recalls, "and she pointed out the clothes she was wearing."

Gold laughs again. "She tried her best. Unfortunately, you're not all that perceptive, your Majesty."

Regina purses her lips, but doesn't retort. "So, how do we fix it?"

"The locket," Gold replies, producing it from the pocket of his jacket. "The spell was enacted when it contained pictures of a family who gave her up. Replace them with pictures of a family who will never betray her, and give it back to her. The spell will reverse itself."

"It's that easy?" Regina asks, in disbelief.

"It may not be as easy as you're expecting," Gold shrugs, but doesn't offer any elaboration.

Regina tucks the locket away and heads back out of the shop. She starts off in the direction of the Charmings' loft, but doesn't say a word. Emma can't tell if she's angry or upset, but either way, she's uncharacteristically quiet for the entire walk, and Emma just wants to cry.

She should have known Regina wouldn't be happy when she found out.

Regina carries Emma up the stairs to the loft, and puts her down on the couch once they're inside. Emma watches as Regina grabs a photo album off the shelf and starts flipping through pages. She finds a picture of Henry and a picture of Snow and David, and pulls them out. She uses her magic to shrink them down, and grabs the locket. She pops out the pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Swan and replaces them with the newly shrunken pictures.

"Here," she says curtly, handing the locket to Emma. It's the first thing she's said to her, and Emma hates that she's talking to her in that voice she used to use before the curse broke.

Emma takes the locket, and holds it in her hand, but she doesn't feel the magic. She feels nothing.

"Emma!" Regina cries, exasperated, "you have to use your magic!"

Emma concentrates hard, but nothing happens. She doesn't know how she used it the first time, it just happened. She wishes there was a way to tell Regina that. She looks back up at Regina, and Regina looks like she's on the brink of tears. Emma can't look at her like this anymore. She holds up the locket and starts to cry.

"Okay, Emma, don't cry," Regina says, taking the locket back, but her voice isn't soothing like it was before. Her words aren't comforting, it's an order. She talking to Emma like she's an adult again, and Emma doesn't like it.

"Come on," Regina says, picking Emma up. She stops crying, and momentarily thinks maybe things will go back to normal, but Regina holds her stiffly now, and Emma realizes she's carrying her for convenience only. Regina carries her back downstairs, and Emma has no idea where they are headed, until she sees Regina turn toward the Sheriff's station.

_Oh, God, she's actually going to do it. She's going to drop me off here and leave!_

Emma panics. She grabs on tight to Regina's neck and starts to wail.

Regina sits down on the steps, with Emma on her lap, and holds her face to look at her. "Emma, stop," she says, firmly. Emma forces herself to calm down. She wishes Regina would just hold her like before, but she guesses things are different now.

_Fuck Gold, he ruined everything!_

"Why are you crying?" Regina asks.

Emma takes a deep breath. She wonders if she has enough words to convey what she wants to say. "No go!" she says.

_That's a good start. Now elaborate, Swan! You can do it!_

"Emma stay," she continues.

_Oh, NOW I can say my name. That would have been useful, yesterday._

Regina sighs, and her face softens a little. "You're remembering that I said I was going to drop you off here?" she asks. Emma nods. "I'm not going to. I just need to talk to Ruby. Emma, I-" Her voice hitches in her throat, and Regina looks up at the sky, blinking back tears.

She takes a deep breath and looks back at Emma, who is still crying a little. "How much of you is baby and how much of you isn't?" she asks, and then shakes her head. "You probably don't even know. I don't know how to treat you now. Do I hold you like a baby? Or talk to you like an adult? What do you want?"

Emma doesn't hesitate. She propels herself forward against Regina. Regina sighs and wraps her arms back around Emma, holding her tight.

"Okay, you made your point," Regina says, with a small laugh, as she rubs Emma's back again. Emma smiles. Regina might still be upset, but at least she's holding her again.

"I need to get Ruby's insight on what 'a family that won't betray you' could mean," Regina says, as she stands again. "But I promise you, I won't leave you here. You'll stay with me until we get this spell reversed, okay?"

Emma nods against Regina's chest.

Even though Regina is clearly still upset, Emma can tell she's telling the truth.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning for mention of Hook, but he's not actually IN this chapter, nor will he actually be in the story, as a character in any way.**

**Chapter Eight**

After a few minutes, Regina stands and carries Emma into the Sheriff's station. Despite Regina's promise to not leave her here, Emma still clings on to her extra tight, just in case.

Regina sighs as she looks around and finds the station empty. She pulls out her phone and calls Ruby, only to learn she's been called out to investigate some graffiti near the school, and will be back shortly.

"Wonderful," Regina says, as she ends the call and sits down in the chair behind Ruby's desk. In the process, she manages to knock over a stack of papers and files from the overflowing inbox.

"Shit!" Regina says, and Emma giggles. "Oh, you think that's funny, do you? I have a suspicion, Miss Swan, that all this paperwork didn't pile up in the two days Deputy Lucas has been running this station, did it?"

Emma stops laughing as Regina holds on to her with one hand, and leans forward and grabs at the papers with another. She drops them in a mess onto the desk. "You can deal with that when you're back," she says, curtly.

Emma can tell she's pissed, but she can't exactly tell why.

Is she mad that Emma couldn't break the spell?

Emma starts to grow worried. What if she stays mad, even after the spell is broken? Emma wants to hug her and make her feel better, but how's she supposed to do that if Regina's pissed at her, again?

Emma's lip starts to quiver, as she stares up at Regina. She can feel she's about to cry again. She doesn't want to. She's cried so much over the past two days, she'd like to keep her composure, for once.

Regina sighs as she looks at Emma's sad face, and her eyes soften again. She strokes Emma's cheek with her hand, and suddenly Emma doesn't feel like crying anymore.

"Emma…" Regina starts, and she seems like she doesn't quite know how to say whatever it is she wants to say. It must not be so easy, now that she knows Emma's really Emma. "I told you some things that I… that I would never have told you, if I knew it was actually you, listening. I thought you were really a baby. I just… oh, I just should have known better."

Emma wonders how Regina thinks she possibly could have known. Emma figures she must just be relying on her tendency to blame herself for everything and always expect the worst.

But now she knows why Regina's mad. She's feeling exposed and she's worried about the secrets that Emma knows now, and berating herself for saying anything at all. And Emma feels terrible for not finding a way to make her know it was her, all along.

Emma thinks she should say something now. She wonders if she could apologize. She figures it's worth a try.

"S… sowwy."

Emma looks up at Regina expectantly. There's no way she wouldn't get that, even if Emma couldn't make an 'r' sound.

And to Emma relief, Regina smiles. "Oh, you're sorry, are you?" she asks, teasingly, raising an eyebrow. "I suppose it wasn't all bad, was it? You did hug me after my encounter with Whale. It was sweet when I thought you were just a little lost baby, but it means more now that I know it was actually you. But promise me, Emma, you're not going to hold those things over my head when you're back to yourself."

Emma smiles and nods quickly. How could Regina even expect that she would?

Regina runs her fingers through Emma's hair again, and the movement makes her necklace catch the light again. Instinctively, Emma reaches for the pendant, and Regina laughs. Emma looks up, surprised, as Regina shakes her head.

"You really do react to everything like a baby, don't you?" Regina asks, "I cannot even imagine what it's like to be inside your head right now."

Emma laughs, as Ruby re-enters the station. Regina stands to greet her, picking Emma back up.

"What's going on?" Ruby asks Regina, as she tickles Emma under the chin. Emma giggles uncontrollably.

"Oh, well, apparently Miss Swan is completely self-aware," Regina says. Ruby looks at her, shocked, and stops tickling Emma.

"How does that even work?" Ruby asks.

"Gold says she has an adult mind in a toddler's body. She thinks like herself, but she can't do anything but what she could do at eighteen months," Regina explains.

"Ok, that's hella weird," Ruby says, shaking her head.

"So says the werewolf," Regina retorts.

"Touché," Ruby laughs. "So what do you need me for?"

"I need your input, because I'm stuck. Normally, I would ask Emma, but clearly, I can't. The reversal spell requires me to replace the pictures in Emma's locket with the pictures of a family that will never betray her. I put in pictures of Henry and her parents, and nothing happened," Regina explains.

"Well, yeah, her parents already did betray her, right? With that whole darkness and dragon egg thing?" Ruby reminds her.

Regina cringes. "I never even thought of that. I assumed he meant betray as in give her away, and they would never give her up. Well, again, I mean."

"Well, maybe it does mean that. Maybe it means the family that will never give her up, but maybe it doesn't mean parents? Emma not a child anymore, maybe it means the family she'll create for herself?" Ruby suggests.

"So, what? Henry and Hook?" Regina asks.

_No, not Hook._

Emma realizes that Regina doesn't know they broke up. How could she? She never told her, since the first time she saw her after it happened, was when she was complaining about her choice of wardrobe for a city council meeting. It hardly seemed like the appropriate time to bring it up.

"Worth a try," Ruby agrees.

_Yeah, so, basically I'm going to be a baby forever, then._

Ruby turns and looks at her desk, which is now a disaster of scattered papers. "What happened here?"

"What?" Regina asks, feigning innocence.

Emma can't help herself. "Nina do!"

"Traitor," Regina whispers, as she puts her hand over Emma's mouth. Emma giggles, and licks Regina's palm to make her move it. "Ugh, disgusting!" Regina cries, as she moves her hand away, and wipes Emma's saliva back onto Emma's own sleeve.

_Whoops. Forgot about the erroneous body fluids thing._

But Regina's not mad. She's laughing and so is Ruby.

"I honestly can't tell if that was the baby in her, or the adult," Regina says, shaking her head. "But I told Emma she can deal with that mess when she gets back to normal."

"Duly noted," Ruby says, shaking her head as Regina walks Emma back out of the station.

"Alright, let's hope you have a picture of your pirate in your home, because I have no interest in going to see him," Regina says, as she heads back to the loft, again.

_I do, but it's not gonna work._

Emma has no interest in seeing him, either.

Regina sets Emma down on the floor of her bedroom, once they are inside again. "I don't want to go searching through your things," Regina says, "where is a picture of Hook?"

Emma toddles over to the nightstand beside her bed, and points at the drawer. Regina follows her over to it, and opens it. Emma notices the look of disappointment on her face, and remembers the pack of three pregnancy tests that were in there, from a recent scare. The test had been negative, but it had been enough of an eye opener for her to realize a child with Hook wasn't what she wanted.

But how could she tell Regina?

Emma reaches into the drawer and pulls out the box with the remaining two tests. She holds it up, shaking her head. "No."

"You're trying to tell me you're not pregnant?" Regina asks. Emma nods, and marvels at the ridiculousness of a toddler saying she's not pregnant.  _Ugh, only in Storybrooke. How is this actually my life?_

Regina takes the tests back from her and puts them back in the drawer. "I hope it doesn't make me a terrible person if I say I'm glad."

_It doesn't. Trust me. I'm glad, too._

Emma thinks about Regina talking about how she always wanted a little baby girl, and how she thought perhaps Emma could still give Henry a sibling, like he always wanted. Maybe one day she could, but not with Hook.

Regina finds the picture of Hook, and shrinks it down, and uses it to replace the picture of Snow and David. She hands Emma the locket.

Emma looks at it and pouts. She really, really doesn't want it to work this time. Not just because she wants to stay little, with Regina, for a little while longer, but because she doesn't want magic to say that the man she just ended things with is the family that won't betray her.

Regina scoops Emma up in her arms and sets her down on the bed, sitting beside her. "It's okay, Emma, just hold the locket, and the magic should work on its own."

Emma takes the locket from her and holds it.

Nothing happens.

Emma's relieved, and she's pretty sure Regina looks relieved, as well.

Regina takes the locket back, and removes the picture of Hook. "Maybe try just Henry?" Regina suggests.

It seems plausible. Henry would never betray her, but Emma has to wonder about the blank space on the other side of the locket now. Surely, someone belongs there, right?

She holds the locket again.

Again, nothing happens.

Regina shakes her head. "This doesn't make any sense. Gold must have the spell wrong," she sighs.

Emma puts her hand on top of Regina's and Regina laughs. "Are you trying to comfort me? You're the only whose supposed to be a baby," Regina reminds her.

"Well, dear, let's get some dinner and go home," Regina suggests, as she picks Emma up and takes the locket back. "We'll worry about this tomorrow."

She carries Emma across the street and back to Granny's. Emma's amazed that she's willing to try this again, since breakfast had ended so badly. She supposes Regina's tired and just doesn't feel like cooking.

Regina sits down in the booth with Emma on her lap, like last time, and Emma grabs at the menu, pointing at the picture of the onion rings.

"Not a chance," Regina says, "you may think like an adult, but you have the tummy of a toddler. I'll not have you throwing up on me again."

Emma pouts and drops the menu. She doesn't care that Regina actually has a point, she just wants the onion rings.

Regina orders her mac and cheese instead, and orders herself a salad. Emma waits, impatiently, for the food to come, and can't seem to sit still, at all.

"Emma!" Regina says, exasperated, "can you sit still for two minutes?"

_Clearly not._

Emma tries, but it's not easy. Finally, the food arrives, and Emma tries to start eating with her hands. Regina catches her before she can get her fingers in the bowl, and puts a spoon in her hand. Emma sighs and tries to maneuver the spoonful of noodles to her mouth. It's not easy, either.

After a few spoonfuls fall onto her lap, Regina stops eating her salad, and takes the spoon from Emma, to feed her with it. "This was less weird when I thought you were actually a baby," Regina points out.

Emma doesn't care. She just wants to eat.

"Can I finish my dinner, now?" Regina asks, once Emma's bowl is empty. Emma nods, and snuggles against her, as Regina picks up her fork and continues eating her salad. She doesn't comment when Emma steals a few pieces of lettuce, when she thinks Regina isn't looking.

When she's just about finished, another uninvited guest appears in the booth across from them. This time, it's the Blue Fairy.

"Regina," Blue says, polite but curtly. "I heard about your little Emma dilemma."

Regina's not usually a fan of the fairy, but Emma knows she's stumped on how to reverse this spell. "Yes, well, Gold told me how to reverse it, but it's not working. It think he got the wrong spell."

Blue shakes her head. "No, it's the right spell. I examined the locket myself. Whose pictures have you tried?

"Emma parents with Henry, Hook with Henry, Henry by himself…" Regina says. "Nothing's worked."

"There is a chance, that the family who will work isn't actually Emma's family, yet," Blue points out.

"So, what, I need to predict who she'll end up with?"

Blue shrugs. "It's the only way to reverse it."

Regina lets out another heavy sigh as Blue stood up to leave. "Well, sorry Emma, but you may just be stuck as a baby forever, because I have no clue who your soul mate is."

Emma smiles.

She's definitely not going to be stuck as a baby forever, because she's pretty sure she knows exactly who her soul mate is.

 


	9. Chapter 9

After Regina pays for dinner, she picks Emma up and carries her back outside. "You know, Miss Swan," she says in a teasing voice, as she starts walking back in the direction of the mansion, "if your legs weren't so little, I'd just make you walk. You're certainly getting a free ride with this whole baby thing."

_Yeah, it's not exactly as fun as it looks, Regina._

Regina shakes her head, and cringes a little, as an apparent memory suddenly comes back to her. "Oh, God, Emma, I bathed you in my bra!" Regina laments, closing her eyes and covering her face with one hand.

_Yeah, okay, that part was fun._

Emma giggles Regina shakes her head, again. "This is so out there, even for us, I hope you realize. Do you have any idea how tempted I am to take a 'selfie' of us right now, and send it to Henry?"

_Ugh, Henry! Why on earth did you teach her that word? It's sounds so… Un-Regina! Stop it!_

"But I won't, for your sake, because I know your mother would hop on a plane and be here in an hour, ready to dress you up in pink frilly dresses and sign you up for Mommy-and-Me Baby Yoga classes. She would also have to change your diaper the old fashioned way, and I bet you'd just love that," Regina says, with a laugh.

_Well, I'm glad you're enjoying this, Regina._

Emma can feel her little ears burning again. She doesn't like being teased by Regina, but at the same time, she guesses it's better than Regina barely speaking to her. That short time between Gold's shop and the Sheriff's station had felt like an eternity.

For her part, Regina seems to notice Emma turning red. "Oh, Emma, I'm just teasing. No need to be embarrassed about something you can't help."

_Too late._

Emma just pouts, and avoids Regina's eyes.

"Alright, I'll stop." Regina throws one hand up in mock surrender, the other still holding Emma securely to her. "I still kind of like it when you can't talk back, though."

Emma smiles and lays her head against Regina's shoulder. She might not be able to talk much, but she hopes Regina can pick up on what's she's trying to convey, non-verbally. She's becoming more and more sure of whose picture belongs in that locket.

Unfortunately, Emma's also pretty sure Gold is right: Regina's not all that perceptive.

But maybe that's alright. She doesn't mind waiting if Regina's going to let her snuggle up close like this. She'll catch on eventually, right?

Emma feels Regina's free hand move to her back again, rubbing small circles. She's glad it didn't take long to get over the awkwardness. Maybe Regina is realizing that she really feels like a baby, regardless of what her adult mind is thinking. She needs the physical contact. She's pretty sure her adult self needs more of it, too, if she's being completely honest.

She knows for a fact that Regina needs more of it.

Emma reaches her hand up to play with Regina's soft, dark hair, where it falls a little over her shoulder. She resists the urge to pull on it – which feels the same as the urge to grab at shiny items, which is all baby - since she's pretty sure Regina wouldn't be very forgiving of that now that she knows Emma is self-aware. She plays with her hair for a few moments, and then moves her little hand to the bare skin on the back of Regina's neck, stroking her little fingers idly there.

Regina laughs. "Henry used to do that when he was tired," she says.

_Ugh. Regina, I wasn't trying to do a baby thing right now._

But Emma guesses she probably is tired. And she guesses that's okay, as long as Regina lets her sleep in her bed again tonight.

"Is it weird if I bathe you now?" Regina asks, as they enter the mansion. "I mean, I'll keep my shirt on this time. But last time I thought you were a real baby, but you knew the whole time. Was it weird for you?"

Emma grins. Weird or not, she really wants a bath all of the sudden. "Yes baff!" she says, excitedly.

_Oh, yes, I'm so glad I know that word!_

"I guess it's not weird. It's not like I'd be bathing your adult body," Regina reasons with herself, as she carries Emma up the stairs.

_Well, it won't be weird if you would stop awkwardly rationalizing it!_

Regina sets Emma down, bare feet on the cool tile floor again, and starts the tub. "Bubbles?" she asks. Emma nod enthusiastically as Regina adds them to the water.

As the suds start to fill the tub, Regina turns back to Emma and starts removing her little clothes, but leaves her diaper on this time. "You should know, I'm just doing this for extra leverage in case you decide to open your big mouth about anything I said to you. I'm going to have at least twice as many embarrassing stories to tell about you."

Emma knows she's trying to play it all off lightly, but she can tell it's still really bothering Regina. It's typical for her to get defensive, even when there's no real threat on the horizon.

Emma rolls her eyes.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Regina asks, as she shuts off the water at halfway again.

Emma grins and sticks out her tongue. She doesn't even think about it, it's more of an impulse, but she hopes it lightens the mood, at least a little.

"Always so dignified, Miss Swan," Regina says, rolling her own eyes, but Emma can see the little smile at the corners of her lips.

Regina reaches to remove her diaper, but stops for a moment, and looks Emma directly in the eye. "There will be no peeing on the floor this time, got it? Baby or not, you know better."

Emma blushes again as Regina takes her diaper off and lifts her into the tub. Her embarrassment is quickly forgotten, however, when Regina uses magic to produce some bath toys. She sits on the edge of the tub, and places the toys in the water.

Regina actually laughs when Emma lunges for a yellow rubber duckie, and makes little quacking sounds as she makes it swim around in front of her. She doesn't even realize she's doing it, until she notices that Regina has her phone out, and she's making a video.

Emma's eyes grow wide with panic, and she throws the duck out of the tub, and tries to hide her face behind the bubbles.

Regina laughs again. "Don't worry, Emma, I won't show this to anyone but you," Regina promises, as she stops recording. "I just thought you'd like to see it when this is all over."

Emma lifts her head back up again, with a little cheeky grin. She can tell she's really winning Regina over now, more than before. "Emma cute!" she cries out, giggling.

Regina raises an eyebrow. "That you are," Regina agrees, as she gets that faraway look in her eyes again. Emma wonders if she's thinking again how she would have liked to have a little girl of her own? Or, perhaps she's wondering how the Swans actually gave  _this_ little girl back? Either way, Emma wants to make her laugh again.

Emma picks up some bubbles in her hand, and blows them at Regina. They splatter on her shirt, her cheek, and in her hair. For a moment, Emma wonders if she made a mistake, because Regina looks like she might snap, but then, she laughs.

She wipes the bubbles off her face and flicks them back at Emma. "I hope you don't think I'm going to take my shirt off again just because you soaked it," she says, as she magically vanishes the bubbles away.

Emma's eyes get wide.

_Oh, shit, does she know I liked that? Oh shit! Oh shit! She thinks I'm a little perv!_

But if she knows, she doesn't acknowledge it again, to Emma's relief. "Alright, let's get you washed up so you can get out of the bath before you turn into a prune," Regina says, as she reaches for the wash cloth and starts bathing Emma.

Emma just stares at her the whole time. Regina doesn't seem to notice, which Emma decides is likely a good thing, since she didn't want this bath to be weird. But she can't stop staring at Regina's face. There's something so different about her when she's doing things like washing a baby. Something so kind, and gentle and so… mothering.

That's what it is. Regina's a mother. Emma's always known she was Henry's mom, but it's more than that. It's like Regina's natural instinct.

It's something that Emma had missed out on in her own childhood, but she's suddenly so glad Henry got to experience it. She wants to tell Regina right now, but she knows she doesn't have the words. She'll have to add that to her to do list: somewhere between hugging Regina and punching Whale, she'd have to tell Regina what an amazing mother she is. It's important. Emma knows it is.

"What?" Regina asks, drawing Emma out of her thoughts. She's noticed Emma's staring.

Emma just blinks a couple times, but doesn't tear her eyes away from Regina's.

"You're getting tired," Regina concludes. Emma decides to let her go with that assumption, since there's nothing she can say to the contrary, anyway.

Regina pulls the plug from the tub, but this time the swirling water isn't nearly as fascinating as staring at Regina is. Regina lifts Emma out of the tub, and wraps her in the warm, fluffy towel again. This time, she magics a diaper on to Emma first thing, and Emma's relieved that she won't have another accident. She's pretty sure she couldn't bear that, now.

Regina seems to hesitate for a moment, but then she scoops Emma up, towel and all, and hugs her close as she walks back down the hall. She enters her bedroom, and sets Emma down in the middle of the bed. The pillow barricade is still in place along one side, and Emma hopes that's a sign that she will get to sleep there again, tonight.

Regina heads over to her dresser, and Emma finds the yellow pacifier laying on top of the covers. Unconsciously, she puts in it her mouth, and suddenly she's so tired. Regina comes back over to the bed, and smiles and shakes her head at the sight of Emma, wrapped up in a towel that's practically swallowing her, with a pacifier in her mouth. Emma doesn't object when Regina takes a picture with her phone.

Emma can barely keep her eyes open as Regina takes the towel away and puts her in a soft, fuzzy blue sleeper. Without a word, she scoops Emma back up, and lays her against her chest. Emma lets her head fall against Regina's shoulder again, as Regina rocks her gently and rubs her back.

That's all it takes. Emma's out again.

 


	10. Chapter 10

When Emma wakes up, the sun is streaming in the window, and she's lying in her side. Her eyes meet Regina's, instantly, and she smiles to herself. She might not remember actually being there, but she knows that Regina let her sleep in her bed again, and she hopes that means that she's really over all the awkwardness of the day before.

After all, she just let her sleep in her bed, knowing that she is really herself inside this baby body. Emma figures that's gotta be progress.

It only takes a few moments for Emma to notice the odd expression on Regina's face, and the curious way she's studying her.

_Uh oh. What's going on?_

Emma wants to ask "what?" but as soon as she tries, she remembers the pacifier in her mouth.

_Ugh._

It had seemed comforting last night, but this morning, it's just plain embarrassing. She pulls it out and throws it away and Regina smirks. She smirks, but she's still got her eyes narrowed on Emma in a peculiar way and Emma wants to know what the hell is going on.

"Wha?" she asks.

Emma's proud of herself for nearly getting the word – well, most of it - out on the first try. She's getting better at this baby thing, she thinks.

Regina's smirk turns to a small, but more genuine, smile, and she shakes her head. "Nothing," she sighs, "I just had a very strange dream."

Emma wants to know what it was. "Wha?" she asks, again.

Regina raises an eyebrow. "I'm not telling you. It was personal. And… way too weird."

Emma's pretty sure that the way Regina's looking at her now, means that the dream was about her. She badly wants to know what it was, but she can't exactly  _force_  Regina to tell her. She pouts instead.

"Put that lip away, Miss Swan," Regina says, as she sits up and runs her hands through her hair. "I'm not giving in to that sad little face of yours anymore."

_Yeah, we'll see about that._

"I fixed your phone, by the way," Regina says, grabbing Emma's iPhone from the nightstand. Emma assumes she must have used magic.

_Of course she used magic. How else did she fix a phone? C'mon, Emma!_

"Henry keeps texting me asking why you won't answer him, so I started texting him from your phone. Don't worry, I was sure to add in enough grammatical errors and an obscene amount of little smiley guys, so he's none the wiser," Regina smirks, again.

_'Smiley guys'. I guess Henry never taught her the word emoji. Thank Heaven for small miracles._

Emma hears her phone chime. It's Henry's designated incoming message alert. Regina swipes the screen and smiles. "He sent you a selfie," she says, before holding up the phone for Emma to see.

_Gah, Regina, stop using that word._

Emma scrambles up to a sitting position to look. Sure enough, there's Henry smiling in front of the Statue of Liberty. Emma feels a little pang in her heart, remembering the time she took him there, when they lived there.

"Would you like to send him one back?" Regina smirks. She's loving this a little too much for Emma's liking. And Emma  _really_  wants to know about this dream that made Regina so cheeky this morning. Maybe the absolute insanity that is their lives has finally gotten to her, and Regina's gone off the deep end.

"He didn't send me any pictures," Regina says, softly, and Emma wonders if that was directed at her, or just Regina thinking out loud. Either way, the mood is dampened, once again. Emma doesn't view Henry's love as a competition, but it's evident that Regina's keeping score.

Regina shakes it off, and sends Henry a quick text back, from 'Emma', and puts the phone back before finally standing. "When he gets home, we'll have to tell him everything," she says, "assuming you're back to normal by then. I don't like lying to him, but I don't want him to worry."

Emma just nods, and finds it interesting that Regina has apparently come to the conclusion in her own mind that once Emma's back to normal, she'll stay in Storybrooke and not go join her family for the rest of her vacation.

_I mean, she's right, but how does she know?_

"I'm going to get dressed," Regina says, "can I trust you to stay put and not fall off the bed?"

Emma nods again. The memory of the time she did fall off the bed is still rather fresh in her mind. She doesn't want to do that again.

She watches as Regina disappears into her walk-in closet, and returns a few minutes later dressed in a form-fitting black skirt and semi-sheer burgundy blouse, that Emma can see her black bra though when the light hits her just right. She pulls a black blazer over top as she exits the closet, and then heads over to dress Emma.

Emma gets the luxury of another pair of denim overalls, and a red and black striped shirt. She supposes it could be worse. She could be in a pink, frilly dress.

"I have to go into work today," Regina says, as she lifts Emma off the bed and sets her on the floor, before heading over to her vanity to put on her make-up. Emma thinks she's beautiful enough without it, but she follows her over to the vanity anyway, standing beside the bench to watch her work her magic.

"You're going to have to come with me," Regina continues as she sits down. She notices Emma watching in the mirror, and hesitates just for a moment, before lifting her up and sitting her on the bench beside her.

"I trust you can behave yourself?"

Emma nods intently as she watches Regina apply her make-up. She's beautiful without it but she's absolutely stunning with it on. Emma has to wonder how much of Regina's pristine look is for show, like if she looks impeccable, people might just be more willing to accept her, despite everything she's done.

Or maybe she just likes looking pretty.

When she's done with her make-up, she lifts Emma up onto her lap, and combs her hair into two little pigtails. "I dress you like a boy, the least I can do is give you pretty hair," Regina reasons.

Emma smiles, but really, she couldn't care less what her hair looks like at this point.

After a quick, and thankfully uneventful breakfast of juice and scrambled eggs, Regina poofs them to her office. Emma's not used to poofing so often, but she's starting to think she should start. Maybe she would have a better chance of being on time to things, she figures.

Regina carries her into her office. It's large on a normal day, but looks absolutely huge now, and imposing with its black and white décor and expensive… everything. Emma's head is racing with all the potential things she could ruin in this office. She's gonna have to try extra hard to behave this morning.

Regina sets her down on the carpet in front of the couch – the same couch she sat in years ago when Regina tricked her into calling Henry crazy while he was standing in the doorway – and Emma marvels at how far they've come since then. She sometimes lets herself forget how strained their relationship once was, but taking into account how much it's already grown, only gives Emma hope for more growth, in the future.

After handing her a box full of Henry's toys, produced magically from air, Regina heads over to her desk to get to work. Emma's determined to be quiet and well-behaved, as she reaches into the box.

It's that damn transformer again.

_Not today, Megatron._

Emma tosses it to the side and it hits the hard floor next to the rug with a thud.

"Don't throw toys, Emma," Regina scolds. Emma can't see her from where she's sitting, but she can imagine her face: annoyance with a hint of bemused smirk. She's loving this.

Emma pulls out the next toy.

_Ugh. Optimus Prime? Is there anything but Transformers in this box?_

Optimus Prime meets the same fate as his nemesis, landing with a thud next to Megatron.

"Emma, what did I just say?"

Emma guesses Regina's face is more annoyance less bemused at this point. She stands up and grabs the corner of the box, tipping it over and spilling the contents onto the rug. She hears Regina sigh from behind her.

_Seriously, woman, just stop watching me and get to work!_

Emma surveys the toys in front of her. None of them look particularly interesting. She wonders what she actually played with at this age. She stacks some blocks up and knocks them over. It entertains her for about five seconds.

She's so bored.

She sits down in a little huff and builds her tower again. There's only about seven blocks. She knocks it over again.

Boring.

One of the blocks falls under the couch. She lies down on her tummy and scoots her way under there to retrieve it. She grabs it and tosses it back onto the rug, and continues travelling on her belly to the other side of the couch, and across the open floor.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Emma stops and looks up. Regina is looking at her with one eyebrow raised, while simultaneously holding two papers in her hand. Damn, the woman is good at multitasking. Emma is sure her descent across the room had been silent. She guesses Henry never got away with anything.

Emma stands back up and walks back to the rug. She doesn't have to look up to know Regina's eyes are on her the entire time. She wonders how long she's been here. It feels like  _hours_  but knowing her luck, it's barely been minutes.

Regina's on the phone now. Emma glances over her shoulder, and for once, Regina's not looking at her. Emma thinks she should climb up on the couch and have a nap. Time would pass faster that way, she thinks. She drags the empty, upside-down toy box over, and uses it as a step stool. She's on the couch in a flash. She glances over. Regina's busy writing something down, and still not looking.

Emma bounces a little on the cushion. It's springier than she would have thought. She bounces a little harder. This is actually fun. She stifles a giggle as she gets to her feet and starts jumping.

_Why on earth do parents tell their kids not to do this? Jumping on the couch is awesome!_

Emma thinks of the Ten Little Monkeys who jump on the bed. Why was it that the Mama called the doctor again?

Oh, right.

Emma bounces a little too hard, and without warning, she's practically airborne over the arm of the couch, about to land on the hard floor and break her head.

But she doesn't.

She lands in Regina's arms instead.

She's not hurt but she starts screaming anyway. Regina maneuvers her from the awkward position that she caught her in, and places her in that familiar position against her chest, and holds her tightly. She holds her so tight Emma can barely breathe, but she doesn't notice because she's still wailing.

Regina walks calmly over to her desk and picks up the phone receiver from where she dropped it in her haste to catch Emma, and tells the party on the other end she'll have to call them back. Then she starts to rub Emma's back and rock her.

"It's okay, Emma. You're okay. You're not hurt," she coos into her ear. "You just scared yourself. You're okay."

Emma slowly starts to calm down. Regina's right. She's not hurt. She didn't break her head. But there will be no more monkeys jumping on the bed.

And no more Emma jumping on the couch, for that matter.

Emma wraps her arms around Regina's neck and holds on tight. Without a word, once Emma stops crying, Regina carries her back behind the desk and sits down with her on her lap, to continue working.

_This is better._

Emma cuddles up against Regina. She can't get hurt here. And it's not boring here, either. She thinks she'll just stay here all day.

And Emma stays there, through seemingly endless paper work and phone calls. A few people walk in, for various reasons, and question the baby on Regina's lap. She doesn't tell any of them who she is, just that she's a lost baby and Regina's watching her. Emma guesses she doesn't want the whole town to know that the former Evil Queen is literally coddling the Saviour. Emma's okay with that, too; the less people who know, the better, for the sake of her own future embarrassment.

A little before noon, Gold walks in, to discuss something about a small business something… Emma's not really paying attention to what he wants, she's just taking in the permanent smirk that seems glued to his face from the moment he sees Emma on Regina's lap.

"Not trying very hard to break this spell, are we?" he says, before he's about to leave. "Or could it be you like the travel-sized version of the Saviour?"

Emma swears she can  _hear_  Regina roll her eyes. "As a matter of fact, I  _did_  try. You could try being less vague on whose pictures I need to break this spell."

"Like I said, not very perceptive," Gold says, before turning to leave.

Emma can feel Regina stiffen, and she looks up to see Regina staring out the door after Gold, shaking her head almost unperceivable.

And Emma smiles.

She's pretty sure she knows what Regina's strange dream was about. She's pretty sure Regina is finally getting it.

Or so she hopes.

 


	11. Chapter 11

After Gold leaves, Regina sets Emma down on the floor and opens a little cooler bag she had brought with her. She gives Emma juice, and a little container divided into sections, which hold orange slices, a cut-up peanut butter sandwich, and cheese and crackers. Emma watches for a moment as Regina sits back at her desk and gets back to work, apparently opting to skip lunch today. Emma doesn't know if she should admire her self-control or be concerned, but the food in front of her soon distracts her attention away.

Regina's secretary brings her in a coffee and Emma starts to wonder if the woman lives off of caffeine alone some days. She thinks she should add 'feed Regina' to her to-do list, which is growing longer and longer as more time passes.

And so Emma eats, and thinks, as she hears both Regina's phone and her own phone chime several times. Henry's texting both of them and Regina's answering both, and Emma has to grin. She can just imagine Henry's face when he finds out what happened. Maybe Regina will take that selfie of them, after all, for proof.

Emma's not exactly sure  _when_  she fell asleep, but when she wakes up she's wrapped up in a blanket, lying on the middle of the rug. Regina has the coffee table pushed out of the way, and the toys are all back in their box. Emma doesn't remember finishing lunch, and she wonders if she passed out with her head in the food, like babies do in their highchair.

She rolls over and sees Regina just hanging up the phone. And Regina smiles as she stands up. "There you are," she says. "You woke up just in time. It's time to go home."

_Home._

Emma likes how Regina is referring to her house as home, as if the word applies to Emma as well.

Emma scrambles up to her feet, and grabs at the blanket, attempting to pick it up and hand it to Regina. Regina takes it from her and slings it over the back of the couch, and Emma wonders why she has a blanket there at all. Maybe it doesn't belong there. Maybe Regina conjured it with magic. Emma supposes it doesn't really matter, either way.

Regina bends down and picks Emma back up, slinging her onto her hip like it's the most natural thing in the world. She's got Emma's phone in her other hand.

"Want to see something?" Regina asks, as she opens the camera roll on Emma's phone. She holds it up and shows Emma a picture of herself, lying face down in her food, a piece of cheese stuck ungraciously to her forehead.

_Well, that answers that._

Emma's mortified, but Regina's laughing. Emma's cheeks are burning again.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed, Emma," Regina says amidst her laughter. "Henry used to do that, too. I have a picture of him sleeping in a bowl full of spaghetti. I should show you sometime."

Emma wonders if Regina would be laughing if this were the other way around. Well, figures Regina probably wouldn't get herself into this kind of situation in the first place. She's got a little more control with her magic than that.

"You know, I think we should still take a selfie, to show Henry when he gets home," Regina says, opening the app on Emma's phone before Emma can protest.

_Say selfie one more time, Regina, I dare you._

Emma doesn't really want to protest. She does want that selfie, and she feels better knowing it will be on her phone. Regina holds the phone up, and her smile, reflected on the phone's screen, takes Emma's breath away. It's all Emma can do to force herself to concentrate on smiling herself, as Regina takes the picture.

"I have an idea, Emma," Regina says, tentatively, as she drops Emma's phone along with her own into her purse, and slides it over her shoulder. "When we get home. I think I know how to break this spell."

Emma wonders what the odds are that it's true. As much as she loves the cuddles and being around Regina constantly, she's about done with this whole baby thing. She misses being able to  _talk_  and eat real food. Well, real greasy food, in any event.

Emma holds on to Regina's arm as they walk back towards the mansion. She's gonna miss being carried everywhere, but she can imagine that Regina misses being able to drive everywhere, when she doesn't have a toddler with no car seat to consider. Or maybe she likes it, too.

Emma hears her phone chime again in Regina's purse, but Regina doesn't attempt to answer it. It's Henry's message tone. Almost immediately after, Regina's phone starts to ring. Not a text, a call, and Emma wonders if it's Henry. Regina fishes her phone from her purse while she continues to walk.

"Hi, Henry!" she beams into the phone. "What?...  _what?"_

_What?!_

Something's wrong, Emma can tell by the sound of Regina's voice. Something is very, very wrong.

"No, no, no," Regina's saying. They're near a bench and Regina sets Emma down quickly and crouches down in front of the bench, reaching into her purse, pulling out Emma's phone.

_Oh, my God, Regina, what did you do?_

Regina looks at Emma, and Emma can't tell if she's about to laugh or cry.

"It's… a long story, Henry, I'll… explain when you get home… no, nothing like that! Don't worry…" Regina's chewing on her bottom lip as Henry continues to talk. "Ok, bye honey. See you soon… yes, I'll tell her to call. I love you."

Regina doesn't break eye contact with Emma as she ends the call, and then she does start to laugh, more nervously than anything.

"I, um, may have accidently sent Henry our picture," she says, almost sheepishly.

_Ugh, Regina, seriously? How?_

"He thought I was adopting another kid." Regina shakes her head. "He was slightly panicked."

Emma can't help but laugh at this. Figures he would think that, because why would he think that a random toddler was his birthmother?

"But he's getting impatient for you to call him," Regina continued, as she scooped Emma up again, "so I hope my plan works. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. He might be busy in New York, but he's too smart, he's going to know I'm lying."

Emma lets her head drop onto Regina's shoulder as they continue to walk. She's right, and Emma knows she's right, but she's really going to miss this, regardless.

When the get back to the mansion, Regina brings Emma into the living room and sets her on the floor. "I still can't believe I did that," she says, shaking her head.

_Yeah, Regina, maybe the iPhone is too high tech for you. Stick with your BlackBerry._

There was a time where Emma had thought of suggesting Regina upgrade from her archaic phone, but now she's not so sure. Maybe she should have her texting privileges revoked completely. Emma giggles to herself at the thought.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" Regina asks, raising an eyebrow. Emma just nods, emphatically. It is funny. Regina shakes her head and laughs. "I'll be right back."

Emma crawls around on the floor, trying to keep herself entertained, while Regina goes off to get whatever she went to get. She gets bored of exploring the  _nothing_  on Regina's immaculate carpet, and leans back, gazing up at the mantle. There are pictures of Henry and Regina there, smiling widely. Emma wonders if she could use her magic to pull one down, shrink it, and put it in the locket… just to see.

It seems like a lot of work, so she guesses she should just wait and see what Regina has in mind.

A moment later, Regina returns, and picks Emma up again. "If this works, then I guess this is the last time I'll be carrying you around," Regina acknowledges. "Are you going to miss that?"

Emma smiles and nods as Regina starts up the stairs.

"I am too," Regina says, as she starts rubbing Emma's back again. "But if you tell anyone, I'll kill you."

_Uttering death threats to a baby. Classy, Regina._

When they are finally back in Regina's room, Regina sets Emma in the middle of the bed, again. "Two seconds," she promises, "no jumping."

Emma nods, solemnly. She has no intention of jumping anyway, regardless of how big and bouncy Regina's bed is, like a giant trampoline…

_No! No monkeys jumping on the bed!_

Emma sits on her hands to resist the urge to get up and do it anyway, while silently willing Regina to hurry up and finish doing whatever she's doing over by her dresser with her back to Emma.

When she finally does turn, Emma can see her locket dangling from Regina's hand, closed. Regina walks over and sits on the bed, but makes no attempt to hand it to Emma.

"If this works, Emma," she starts off, her voice somehow commanding and nervous, at the same time, "remember you promised me you won't tell anyone anything I said. I'm trusting you."

Emma nods, and reaches for the locket. She just wants to get this over with. But Regina holds it, just out of her reach.

"And if this  _doesn't_  work, then we have to tell Henry, tonight. I can't lie to him anymore, so I'm sorry if that means Baby Yoga until we figure it out."

Emma rolls her eyes, and Regina smirks. Emma hopes if it comes down to that, that Regina would save her from anything truly embarrassing. Regina holds out the locket to Emma, but this time it's Emma who avoids it, and opts instead to dive in for one last hug. She lunges onto Regina's lap, and Regina wraps her arms around her and squeezes her tight, just for a moment.

"No more stalling, Emma," Regina says, loosening her grip, but not actually letting her go. "We have to do this."

Emma wishes she could ask whose picture is in the locket. Regina hadn't closed it any other time. Maybe there was no new picture? Maybe Regina had done something else entirely? Emma's so confused, and Regina's not offering up any information, so Emma guesses she's just going to have to trust Regina's judgment on this one. She reaches for the locket.

She feels the magic start the moment her fingers make contact with the cool metal. She grabs it in both hands as she sees the locket and her fingers illuminate in white light, and quickly tries to pry the locket open, unable to resist. She needs to know.

But her little fingers aren't agile enough and she can't work it open. She feels the magic spreading throughout her body now, and she looks up one last time at Regina's face. Regina looks concerned, but she's not saying anything or attempting to take the locket back.

"Emma?"

She finally hears Regina's voice, but she sounds like she's a million miles away as the magic finally over takes her and she feels herself propelling backwards.

And then, darkness.

Emma blinks her eyes open. She's in bed, staring at the ceiling. More accurately, she's in Regina's bed, staring at Regina's ceiling. And she's tucked in under the blankets. She cranes her neck to the side Regina usually sleeps on, but it's empty, and Emma sighs.

It takes a moment for the memory of the locket and the magic to flood back to Emma, and suddenly, her heart is pounding. She can't remember anything after the magic knocking her backward. She can't even tell if the spell worked. She wants to know where Regina is.

"Regina!" she cries out, and stops short. It came out 'Regina', not 'Nina'. It came out 'Regina' and it came out in her voice.

She sits up quickly, and looks down. She's an adult again. She breathes a heavy sigh of relief. She pulls back the covers and sees that she's dressed in a t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. The t-shirt she thinks is Regina's, but she's sure the pajama pants are Henrys.

And then it hits her.

Regina must have dressed her.

It's a million times more embarrassing now that she's an adult again, and she wants to believe that Regina used magic. She must have used magic, right? Emma decides she's not going to ask. She really, really doesn't want to know.

But what she  _does_  want to know, is whose picture is in the locket.

She turns and spots the necklace sitting on the nightstand, stilled closed. She grabs it and pops it open, easily. She's so grateful for her fully functioning adult fingers back.

She looks down at the images. On one side, still Henry, smiling away.

The picture on the other side makes Emma smile wider than she thought possible. It's their selfie. Regina must have used magic to produce a hardcopy of the image, and put it in the locket. And there they were. Henry, Regina, and Emma, smiling back at her.

_Our family._

Emma snaps the locket shut, and just holds it for a moment, before opening the clasp and putting it around her neck. She had wanted to throw it out many times during her life, but something always made her keep it. Now, it was no longer a symbol of the people who gave her back, but a rather a symbol of the family that would keep her forever.

And now, she remembered, she had a to-do list to accomplish, the first item being: hug Regina.

She just needed to find her first.


	12. Chapter 12

Emma starts to get out of bed, and actually throws her head back and laughs when her feet make contact with the floor below. She'd missed the simple things like being able to get out of bed without assistance, or falling on her head.

She stands up a stretches. Her grown up body has a few more aches and pains than her little one did. She'd forgotten about that, but she doesn't mind. She'll take being a little decrepit over being a toddler again.

She spots her phone on Regina's dresser before she actually leaves the room, and supposes she should call Henry and check in.

"Hey Kid," Emma says, as soon as Henry answers.

"Mom!" Henry exclaims, "where have you been? I was getting worried!"

"I, uh, didn't I text you?" Emma asks.

"Yeah, and hey Mom, what's with all the emojis all of a sudden? I thought you hated those?"

"Yeah, well, you know… things change. I have a new outlook on life. Emojis included."

"Oooh-kay. So when are you coming to New York?" Henry asks, eagerly.

"Hey, um, listen Kid. I don't know if I'll make it. Things are so busy here and… Henry, I'm sorry," Emma doesn't want to tell him she's not coming because Regina doesn't want to be left alone. She doesn't need him worrying about  _both_  his mothers.

"Mo-om!" Henry whines, "you know you deserve a break. Storybrooke will be fine. Seriously! You're missing out on all the fun!"

"Take lots of pictures for me," Emma smiles, "and tell your grandparents I said 'hi' and I will call them tonight, alright? And Henry, be good!"

"Alright, bye Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Kid."

Emma ends the call and puts the phone back down. She hadn't realized just how much she'd missed Henry until she heard his voice. But Henry is fine and she needs to worry about someone else at the moment. Two someones, actually: one that needs a good hug, and one that needs a good punch. But Whale can wait.

Emma opens the door and heads down the hallway. Everything looks so small, and she feels so unbelievably tall. She can't help but grin to herself, and shake her head, replaying the last couple ridiculous days over in her mind.

She steps into the foyer and is hit by an overwhelmingly delicious aroma. Regina's baking. Emma's sure she's probably doing it because of stress or nerves or something, but she doesn't care  _why_  as long as she gets to eat some of it.

No, that's not true. She does care why.

As she steps closer to the kitchen, she sees Regina fervently rolling out dough, like she's pissed at it. Emma debates whether she should say something, or just run over and wrap her arms around her from behind. And risk a fireball. Best to say something, she guesses.

"Hey."

Regina nearly jumps out of her skin, and spins around to face Emma with wide eyes. She has flour on her cheek and Emma can't help but smile.

"You're… back," Regina says.

"Yeah," Emma agrees, tapping the locket around her neck, and biting her bottom lip nervously. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out."

Regina raises an eyebrow. "Well, if you knew, you could have offered me a hint."

"I tried. Do you think I was hugging you for my health?"

"That… doesn't even make sense," Regina says.

"Whatever, that's not the point," Emma shrugs. This isn't how she expected this to go.

_Why is everything suddenly so awkward now?_

"So, I guess you'll be heading to New York now? Please, take some… everything with you," Regina says, gesturing at the plethora of baked goods covering her countertops. "I promise, nothing is cursed."

"I'm not going," Emma says. "I already told Henry."

"Emma, you should go. I shouldn't have told you not to. Ruby is fine, and Storybrooke is fine and I was just being ridiculous," Regina insists.

"No, you weren't." Emma decides it's now or never, and she goes for it, closing the distance between herself and Regina, and pulling her in for a tight hug. It's so much nice now that she has normal sized arms that fit perfectly around Regina's back.

Regina tenses up, holding her arms out and away from Emma. "Miss Swan,  _what_ are you doing?"

Emma breathes out a laugh. She should have known Regina would react like this. "I made a to-do list," Emma explains, into Regina's left ear, "when I was … well, when I was a baby. All the things I was going to do when I was back to normal, and hugging you was number one. And number three."

"Why?"

"Because it seemed like you needed it," Emma says, softer. And that's all it takes. Regina relaxes, and puts her arms around Emma, resting her head on Emma's shoulders. Emma squeezes her a little harder, and hears Regina sigh heavily. It sounds like the kind of sigh that releases weeks or even  _months_  of built-up tension. Regina needed this hug more than Emma even realized.

So Emma holds her, for some time. She holds her for several minutes, until the oven timer goes off. Regina tries to pull away, but Emma uses magic to retrieve the apple muffins from the oven and put the tray on the cooling rack. And Regina laughs. And Emma keeps holding her.

"What was number two?" Regina asks, after quite some time has passed. She doesn't move her head from Emma's shoulder.

"What?"

"You said hugging me was number one and number three. Either you can't count, or there's another item in between."

Emma laughs. "Oh yeah, punch Whale."

"You want to punch Whale?"

"Yeah. For what he said to you at the diner. He's an ass, and punching him is number two on the list. It's also number four."

Regina pulls her head back and looks at Emma, smiling as she shakes her head. "So in all the time you had to think about this plan of yours, all you came up with was hugging me and punching Whale, over and over?"

"Hey, don't judge. I was a  _baby_ ," Emma says, in mock defense.

"Yes, you'll have to tell me what that was like," Regina says, finally pulling away from the hug completely. Emma can't help but notice how her fingers linger on Emma's hand for a few moments.

"Weirdest shit ever. Like, Regina, I don't even know how to explain. It was like, my brain couldn't control my body. I would try to do one thing, and my body would do some random baby thing."

Regina's grinning widely now.

"You still think this is hilarious, don't you?" Emma asks, rolling her eyes.

Regina nods, biting her lip to try to control the grin. It's not helping.

"Yeah, okay, laugh it up, chuckles," Emma says, grabbing an apple muffin from the tray. "But I am impressed you figured it out so quick. I thought I was going to have to spell it out in letter blocks or something."

Emma notices as Regina's smile starts to fade, and her eyes take on a more serious look. It doesn't take long to figure out what that's about.

"Hey, Regina," she says, putting her hand on Regina's forearm, "I'm not going to say anything, about anything you said. I promise."

Regina nods. "Thank you," she says, but she still sounds uncertain.

"What? What is it?"

"I just… I don't know if I even like  _you_  knowing. It was personal stuff and you know I'm a private person."

"Yeah, and I also know you wish someone could understand you," Emma reminds her. "I could be that person, you know. If you want me to."

Regina thinks on that for a moment, and then looks back at Emma with a more quizzical look in her eyes. She reaches out, tentatively, and places two fingers on the locket around Emma's neck. "What do you think that means?" she asks.

Emma shrugs. "The family that will never betray me. Sounds to me like you're stuck with me forever."

Regina rolls her eyes. "I'm trying to be serious."

"So am I," Emma says, placing her hand over Regina's on her chest. "But I've been back for like five minutes and we've got a lot to talk about. We don't have to figure it out this second, you know. And I'm starving."

"You just inhaled a muffin in two bites," Regina points out.

"I just aged twenty nine years in one day. I need to refuel," Emma laughs.

"Let me guess, you're craving onion rings," Regina suggests.

"See, you know all my secrets, too."

"I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that your secrets would revolve around food," Regina laughs, rolling her eyes.

"And hey, maybe we'll luck out and Whale will be at Granny's!"

"Just… just don't tell him  _why_ , okay?" Regina asks. "I prefer him not knowing that he gets to me."

"Sure, no problem. There's easy like a million reasons he needs to be punched. He's probably not even going to ask why," Emma shrugs, as she turns to head out of the kitchen. She stops when she realizes Regina isn't following her. "You coming?"

"Oh," Regina says, sounding surprised. "I didn't realize I was invited."

Emma rolls her eyes. "Who else is going to drive me?" she asks, teasingly.

"Good to know you are equally demanding  _and_  dependant as an adult as you are as a toddler," Regina says, as she grabs her purse. "Am I also correct in assuming you have no money on you? And is this what you're wearing? You're in pyjamas!"

"Well, I was kind of hoping you'd take me home first to change. Henry's clothes just aren't cutting it anymore."

"Come along, Miss Swan," Regina says, as she walks around Emma and heads to the door.

And Emma just grins.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning for a mention of Hook in this chapter. He's not in it, just a mention.**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Emma runs up the stairs two at a time the moment she steps into the loft, while Regina waits for her in the living room. She quickly throws on some skinny jeans, a white tank, and her red leather jacket. She had forgotten how much she missed wearing her jacket until now, and she smiles to herself. She grabs her wallet and shoves it in her pocket, before heading back downstairs.

"I have money," she says, smiling at Regina, "in case you were still worried."

Regina laughs lightly. "I was kidding. I would have bought you dinner."

"Trust me, you've done more than enough for me the last couple days. I don't want to owe you  _forever_."

"You wouldn't," Regina says, shaking her head as she turns back to the door. "By the way, I'm impressed you were able to get out of here and down to the street as a toddler that first day."

Emma laughs out loud. "Yeah, that was a challenge. I think the pillow mountain was a little ingenious though, if I do say so myself."

"Pillow mountain? It was three pillows."

Emma shrugs. "I was two feet tall."

"True."

They head over to Granny's, and Emma trips over her own feet, nearly falling on her face, trying to get out of the car.

"Are you really  _this_  excited for onion rings?" Regina asks, offering her hand to help Emma back up.

Emma blushes as she takes Regina's hand. "I'm not used to these legs, I guess. I got used to those tiny little ones. Plus, you always carried me around."

"Hmm, perhaps I coddled you too much?" Regina asks, raising an eyebrow.

"It's fine. I liked it," Emma grins, as they step inside the diner. They almost smack right into Ruby, who's heading out the door, coffee in hand.

"Emma! You're back!" Ruby says, throwing her free arm around Emma. "Who was it?"

"Who was what?" Emma asks.

"The picture? Whose picture broke the spell?" Ruby asks, rolling her eyes like it should have been obvious what she meant.

Emma glances at Regina, who looks nervous. "Uh, it's personal," she says.

"Whatever," Ruby rolls her eyes again. "I know you'll tell me, anyway, so you might as well just tell me now."

"Shouldn't you be at the station, Miss Lucas?" Regina cuts in.

"Yeah, sorry Regina," Ruby says, sheepishly.

"Quite alright, dear."

Ruby grins as she walks away, and Emma wonders if she noticed that Regina's still holding her hand. She wonders if Regina even realizes it, as they head over to an open booth.

They make idle small talk about nothing, as they place their orders, and soon after their food comes: onion rings and grilled cheese with a large Coke for Emma, and a salad and water for Regina.

"You should eat more, you know," Emma comments, as she dives into her onion rings like she hasn't seen food in a year.

"You should eat more  _gracefully_ ," Regina counters.

Emma rolls her eyes. "I'm serious. I noticed it the last couple days. You barely eat. You can't just live off of coffee and sarcasm, you know."

Regina shrugs. "It's been working so far."

Emma fights the urge to roll her eyes again. She just shakes her head instead. "Look, it was on my to-do list to tell you to eat more, because I'm worried about you."

"Why would you worry about me?"

"Duh, because I care about you," Emma says, sounding almost like a teenager. She kicks herself mentally for that one. But Regina smiles.

"Eloquent as ever, Miss Swan. But I appreciate your caring about me. I… I care about you, too."

Emma smiles. "I really thought you would drop me off somewhere when you found out who I was. And I  _really_  thought you would when you found out that I was self-aware… wow, sorry, that sounds really weird. Like-"

"Emma," Regina cuts her off, stopping her from rambling on.

"Sorry. Anyway, I just want to say, thanks for taking care of me. It means a lot, you know."

"It was my pleasure, Emma. You are a very likable toddler, for the most part. Which reminds me, there's a hole in my dining room wall you need to fix."

"Right. And a mess of paperwork at the station to clean up," Emma sighs. "But that can wait, right?"

"I suppose," Regina concedes.

"So, um…." Emma starts, looking away from Regina and fiddling with her napkin on the table. "Um…"

"What, Emma?"

"Would it be weird if I asked to sleep at your house tonight?" she says, and mentally prepares herself for the immediate rejection that she knows is coming.

But it doesn't come.

"I… no, it's not weird. In the guest bedroom," Regina says.

Emma smiles, relieved. "Yeah, that's fine, I just don't really wanna go home alone, you know?"

"Yes," Regina agrees.

Emma would have preferred Regina's bed, but she decides maybe now's not the time to push it. She's only been back to herself a little over an hour, and she figures Regina must need time to adjust.

"So, um," Emma starts again. There's so much she wants to get out in the open, but she's not sure how much Regina's ready for. "Um, you know how you tried Hook's picture in the locket?"

Regina visibly stiffens at his name, and nods.

"Yeah, um, I kind of broke up with him," Emma shrugs, almost nonchalantly.

Regina's eyes widen. "Really? When?"

"Uh, the night before the city council meeting. We had, um, a pregnancy scare, as you might have guessed. It was negative,  _thank God,_  and I realized… I don't want to have kids with him. I don't want a future with him. I had to end it."

Regina nods, thoughtfully. "I understand. Had I have known, I wouldn't have tried his picture."

"Oh, you couldn't imagine my relief when it wasn't him," Emma laughs. "But I knew his picture wouldn't work."

"When, exactly, did you figure out it was me?" Regina asks, her voice a little quieter this time. Emma knows this new revelation is confusing and probably a little unnerving to Regina.

"Uh, I think around the time you hugged me on the steps to the Sheriff's station," Emma says, thinking back to the moment that she broke through to Regina.

"You hugged me, if I recall correctly," Regina points out.

"Yeah, but you hugged me back."

"Only because you were so sad."

"That wasn't why," Emma grins, "you  _wanted_  to hug me."

Emma can see the flush on Regina's cheeks, as she turns to look down at her salad again.

"Listen, I don't expect us to, I don't know, whatever, right away, or anything," Emma stammers.

_God, I wish I was better with words!_

"I don't know, whatever?" Regina looks up again, quirking an eyebrow. "Is this how you begin every relationship, or do I just make you nervous?"

Emma's jaw drops for a moment. "Relationship? Is that what we have now?"

"Well, I'm assuming we  _will_ ," Regina says, putting her fingers on Emma's locket again. "I mean, you can't argue with fate, correct?"

"Yeah, uh…" Emma starts, and then sighs, "fate? I thought fate meant you were destined to be with the man with the lion tattoo?"

Regina shrugs, lightly. "Things change. Tinker Bell used that fairy dust before you were even conceived. It couldn't have led me to you then. And maybe I screwed it up then, when I didn't go into the bar. Who know? All I know is, what I got from that relationship cannot possibly be what fate had in store for me. And I'm not going to screw it up this time," she said, tapping on the locket for emphasis.

"You've really, like, put a lot of thought into this," Emma says, incredulously.

"Yes, well, I like to think when I bake, and I did a lot of thinking, and baking, while you slept, as you may have noticed."

"Oh, and here I thought that was all a celebration of your favourite sheriff returning," Emma grinned, putting her hand over Regina's again, and giving it a little squeeze.

Regina smiles, but it fades quickly as Emma hears the chime of the door to the diner behind her.

"What?" she asks, without turning to see who it is.

"Don't do it, Emma," Regina says, urgently. Emma spins around to see that Whale has just entered the diner.

"What? Punch him?"

"Yes, please don't do it. I don't want you to be arrested for assault," Regina says, holding on to Emma's hand.

"Who's gonna arrest me? I'm not about to arrest myself," Emma grins.

"Emma, please," Regina insists.

Emma rolls her eyes. "I was gonna do it for you," she reminds her.

"I know. Look, we're done. Let's just go home, alright?"

Emma nods, and stands, just as Whale is approaching the table.

"Ah, Madam Mayor, I see you opted against destroying another child's-"

He doesn't get the entire sentence out before Emma clocks him, her right fist connecting hard against his jaw, sending him reeling backwards.

"Emma!" Regina gasps.

"My hand slipped," Emma shrugs.

"What the fuck?" Whale exclaims, as he stands back up, his hand over her rapidly swelling jaw.

"Just a little law enforcement," Emma replies, "from now on, I trust you'll remember to speak to the mayor with the respect she deserves?"

Whale just nods, speechless at this point, and Emma can't help but notice Regina's small grin out of the corner of her eye.

"Alright, Sheriff Swan, I think we're done here," Regina says, putting her hand on Emma's shoulder to lead her out of the diner, before she can cause any more of a disturbance. Both women ignore the eyes on them as they exit the building, and get back into Regina's car.

"Fuck," Emma mumbles, as she squeezes her right hand with her left. It's already starting to swell. She hit Whale harder than she probably needed to, but she doesn't care. He had it coming for a long time. And she thinks Regina would agree.

"Let's get you home and get some ice on that," Regina says, as she puts the car into drive, and heads towards the mansion.

_Home._

"Sorry I didn't listen," Emma says, sheepishly.

"You've never listened before," Regina says, "I didn't really expect you to start now. And he deserved it."

"Yes, he did," Emma laughs, relieved that Regina's not upset about it.

"For more than you even realize," Regina adds, her voice dropping a little.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not. But one day I will tell you."

Once they are back to the mansion and back in the kitchen, Regina ushers Emma down into a stool at the island, while she grabs a bag and fills it with ice from the freezer, and wraps it in a soft cloth. She returns to Emma and takes her swollen hand gently in her own, and applies the ice to her knuckles.

Emma hisses initially at the contact, but relaxes as the ice numbs her aching knuckles.

"Better?" Regina asks.

"Yeah," Emma nods. "Pretty sure nothing's broken. And it was worth it."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For standing up for me. It means a lot," Regina says, forcing a smile when she looks like she wants to cry.

"Any time. I got your back, you know that," Emma smiles. "And, you know, I kinda like you taking care of me."

"I like taking care of you," Regina says, and then blushes slightly at the admission.

Regina falls silent as she holds the ice on Emma's hand, until it starts to melt. She pulls it away and drops the bag in the sink, looking at Emma's knuckles. They are still red, but not nearly as swollen.

"What?" Emma asks, suspiciously, as she notes a small smirk curling up on Regina's lips.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking how you completed the first two items on your to-do list…" Regina says, her smirk turning into a smile.

Emma grins. "Oh, and now you're thinking I better get on to number three?"

"Well, that would be the prudent thing to do," Regina agrees.

Emma laughs and stands, wasting no time wrapping her arms around Regina for the second time today. Regina doesn't tense up this time, she just melts right into the embrace, returning it right away, and holding on to Emma tight.

"You know this means I have to punch Whale again," Emma reminds her, as her head drops to Regina's shoulder.

"Hmm, maybe you could let that one slide, and slot in another hug for me instead?" Regina suggests.

"Well, if you insist…." Emma laughs, and squeezes Regina a little tighter.

"Tonight, my dear, we really really need to talk about where this is going," Regina says, after a few moments of silence.

"Tonight we can," Emma agrees.

But Emma's already pretty sure she knows where this is going.

And, for once, she's fairly sure that Regina's on the same page.


	14. Chapter 14

After Emma helps Regina pack up all her baked goods in Tupperware containers and put them in the freezer, they head into the living room to relax on the couch.

"Looks like I'm gonna have muffins and cookies to eat for a year," Emma comments, as she sits.

"Oh, you think they're for you, do you?" Regina asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah. You made me eat apples and carrots and grapes. You owe me."

"If I recall correctly, you didn't eat any apples. In fact, I cut you up an apple, from my apple tree no less, and you threw it on the floor," Regina says, in a mock scolding voice.

"One piece," Emma shrugs. "I wasn't used to all that healthy crap. And hey, sorry for, you know, spilling my juice everywhere and swearing and uh, puking on you."

Regina chuckles and shakes her head. "And peeing on the floor?"

Emma can feel her face turning red. "Can you please never mention that again? I mean, it's bad enough you told  _Gold_!"

"Fine. Never again, I promise," Regina swears.

Emma rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I bet."

"So tell me, Miss Swan, what do you have left on your to-do list? We've hugged twice, you punched Whale, you told me to eat more… is there anything else?"

"Uh… yeah," Emma nods, "there is another thing." She looks at Regina, biting her lip nervously.

"Well, what is it? Judging by how flustered you are, is it to kiss me?"

Emma's jaw drops, and she gapes at Regina for a moment, before regaining her composure. "Shit! No… wait, if it was, would you let me do it?"

Regina smiles. "Well, if you would have put it on your list, maybe you would have the answer to that question," she teases.

Emma's heart's racing now. She wonders if she should lie and say the next item is for Regina to feed her strawberries, naked in the bathtub. Would she go for  _that?_

_Focus, Swan!_

Emma exhales slowly, forcing herself to regain her composure, and remember the very first thing she vowed to do when this was all over.

"Okay, I'm going to try to be serious for a minute, okay? Please don't cry or anything, but I need to tell you this," Emma says.

Regina's teasing smile fades, and she looks like she's about to try to make a break for it. Emma can almost  _see_  her walls going up, and she's got to talk fast because she knows Regina's expecting some sort of rejection at any moment.

"I promised myself that I would tell you… that I realized during this time, that you really did give Henry his best chance. I mean, I always knew you were a good mom to him, and that much is obvious in how great he turned out, that's all a credit to you… he, um… well, I mean, I didn't really get a chance to have parents or like a family, and I don't know how I would have been as a mother to him if I kept him and… I'm just glad he had you. You really need to stop second guessing yourself because you really are the best mother, and I'm so,  _so_  glad Henry had you…"

Emma's voice trails off as notices tears flowing from her own eyes now, and realizes it wasn't Regina she needed to worry about crying.

And this time, it's Regina who reaches for her, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her so close, so tight. "Thank you, Emma," Regina whispers into her hair.

Emma sighs as Regina starts rubbing her back. "Are you trying to make me fall asleep?" she laughs. "You should know by now that's my weakness."

"Oh, no, my intentions are quite the contrary, dear," Regina says, lifting her hands to Emma's face, and pulling her back so she can look at her again. "You see, I've been devising my own to-do list in my head, and I think it's about time I got the first one out of the way."

Without another word, Regina leans in and kisses Emma's mouth. Initially, Emma is too shocked to react to the soft lips brushing against hers, but in a moment, she realizes what's actually happening right now, and kisses Regina back with urgency.

_This is real._

_This is really happening._

Regina laces her fingers through Emma's hair, and Emma wraps her hands around the back of Regina's neck, pulling her closer – if that were even possible at this point.

"I can't wait to find out the second item on  _your_  list," Emma says, breathlessly, when they finally break away from the kiss.

Regina laughs, still cupping Emma's face in her hands. "I'm afraid that's as far as I got, my dear. Do you have anything left on yours?"

"Well, there is this one thing… but I'm not sure you'd be down," Emma says, chewing on her bottom lip again.

"Try me."

* * *

Emma can't believe that Regina actually went for this.

And yet, here they are, naked in the bathtub together. Regina's sitting behind Emma, one arm lazily wrapped around the blonde, the other hand reaching to pull another strawberry from the bowl, and bring it to Emma's lips.

"You know," Emma says, after she's eaten the strawberry, "I had a mini panic attack the first time you bathed me. When you took your shirt off, I thought you were going to get in the tub with me."

Regina chuckles behind her. "Apparently, you would have liked it."

"I would have been mortified," Emma admits. "And, um, sorry I was staring at your boobs."

"Oh, I just assumed  _that_  was a baby thing."

Emma can't see her face from where her head is laying on Regina's chest, but if she had to guess, she'd guess she was full on smirk with raised eyebrow to boot at this moment. "Nah," she shakes her head, "that one was all me."

"And this is what you thought of when I was bathing you?"

"No, actually I thought of this after," Emma says, as if that makes a difference. Then she laughs. "What can I say, I was a perverted little baby."

"Apparently so," Regina agrees.

"So…" Emma says, tentatively, "you wanted to talk about where this was going? Us, I mean?"

"Yes, well, I think I could hazard a pretty good guess at this moment, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, but, I mean… all because of a picture in a locket? You're ready to jump head first into this?"

"Not just because of that… Emma, don't tell me you haven't felt this all along. It's always been me and you, you know? At the center of everything, no matter what happened or even if I pushed you away, there you were. Always. Honestly, thinking back, I don't even know why I didn't try my own picture first. Maybe I wasn't sure you felt the same…"

Emma smiles as she lifts one of Regina's hands and kisses her fingers. "I told you we were special."

"That you did. And you said I could understand you. That's important."

"Yeah, it really is. And I think I can understand you, now, too. You thought I couldn't, but you've got to give me a chance. And I promise to listen without cutting you off or offering advice."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, dear," Regina muses, before kissing the top of Emma's head.

"Okay, I promise to  _try_  to listen? Is that better?"

Regina wraps her arms tightly around Emma again, as if she's holding on for dear life. "Everything is better."

"Yeah, it is."

And it is. For once, Emma feels like she's actually at home in her own life, and she has Regina to thank for that. But she knows there's still more that Regina really needs. Another subject they haven't touched on yet.

Emma tries to tell herself they have all the time in the world, and that she's getting ahead of herself and she's going to scare Regina away but, she just can't help herself.

"Regina?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Um, so I read something in one of those magic books you leant me, that I've been meaning to ask you about."

"You want to talk about magic right now?" Regina sounds surprised.

"No, just one particular thing…" Emma says, unsure of how to word it.

"Alright, out with it then."

"Is it true… um, that two people in love can produce a magical baby, even if they are two women?"

She feels Regina tense up behind her, and immediately wonders if she made a mistake. It's too soon. She's moving  _way_  too fast. Regina's gonna freak out.

_Fuck, Swan!_

"It's true," Regina says, finally. "Why would you ask about that?"

"Um… I started kind of thinking about it when you were saying how you always wondered what it would be like to have a baby girl."

"Emma, I was just talking. I didn't really mean that."

"No, you weren't. And yes, you did. I'm a human lie detector, remember?"

Regina laughs, nervously. "So, what are you trying to say? You want to have a baby? This morning, you  _were_ a baby."

"I know. And I'm not trying to get ahead of myself here or anything, I just… shit, I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Regina says, reaching her hand up to Emma's cheek, tilting her face up so she can kiss her again before continuing. "I'm glad you did, because I never would have found the courage to bring it up to you."

"There's nothing you can't say to me, you should know that by now," Emma insists. "And I want to know everything… well, I mean, whatever  _you_  want to tell me. No pressure."

Regina shakes her head and wraps her arm back around Emma, squeezing her tight again. "We have time for all of that, Emma. And whatever the future brings us. We don't have to get into everything right this minute, you know. Just enjoy the moment with me, alright? I'm not going anywhere." Regina lifts a hand to tap the locket that is still hanging around Emma's neck. "I'm the family that will never betray you, remember? You're stuck with me forever."

Emma lifts her hand to cover Regina's, interlacing her fingers between hers. "Good."

* * *

That evening, Emma finally calls her parents, and apologizes  _a million_  times for not calling sooner. They make no effort to hide their disappointment that she will not be joining them for the remainder of the trip, but it doesn't bother her at all. She's quite content exactly where she is.

She and Regina spend the rest of the night, cuddled up under the same blanket on the couch, watching some sappy Lifetime movie. Emma's having a hard time following the story, since she spends most of the movie lost in Regina's mouth, exploring and learning every inch of it.

"Emma," Regina gasps, "do you always make-out like a teenager in the back of a movie theatre?"

"Only with you," Emma laughs. "Why, do you want me to stop?"

"Not a chance."

Neither of them realize the movie is over until the next one starts, and Regina grabs the remote and turns off the TV. "I suppose we should get to bed. It is late," she acknowledges.

Emma pouts a little as they make their way up the stairs. "You still want me to sleep in the guest bedroom?"

Regina laughs as she pulls Emma by the hand into her bedroom. "I've changed my mind. I think my bed would be too lonely without you."

"Well, lucky for you, 'never let Regina sleep alone again' just made my to-do list," Emma grinned.

"Lucky for both off us, my dear," Regina says, as she pulls Emma down into the bed with her. "Because this is right where you belong."

Right where Emma belongs. Right here with Regina.

 _Home_.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Epilogue**

"She looks just like you."

Emma smiles. "I know. You tell me every day."

They are sitting on the back porch swing in the warm summer twilight. Emma has her knees drawn up high so that their baby daughter sit up against them and look at both her mothers.

"When she gets a little older, anyone who didn't know any better would swear that was her picture in your locket," Regina smiles.

"Trust me, anyone who doesn't know any better is  _welcome_  to think that, because I am not explaining that story to anyone else, ever again. Never."

"Oh, my dear, tell me how you  _really_  feel," Regina chuckles, putting her arm around Emma's shoulder, and reaching out with her other hand to stroke the soft blonde peach fuzz on their daughter's head.

For months, they had started to believe the 'true love magic baby' thing was a myth, when month after month went by with no pregnancy.

But it had taken months to even get to that point. After a week of spending every waking moment together, alone in Regina's house, getting to know each other in the most intimate of ways, the Charmings and Henry returned from their vacation. The first few hours were filled with pictures and stories and 'I wish you'd been theres' and Emma and Regina smirking at each other and sharing secret shit-eating grins. Then it happened.

"So, Emma, what exactly happened to you? We tried to reach you for  _days."_

It had been Snow who asked, and Emma had laughed, amazed that it took her  _this_ long to broach the subject.

"Oh, Mom, I'm not sure you would believe me even if I told you," Emma sighed, but Regina was already reaching for her phone, where the evidence lived.

"Emma had a minor magical mishap," Regina grinned, holding out her phone to show Snow and David the picture of Emma on her bed, wrapped in a towel, with her pacifier in her mouth, wide green eyes staring straight ahead. "That's her."

"Mom!" Henry cried, "that's the baby in the picture with you!"

Emma and Regina just laughed. "I told you it was a long story," Regina shrugged.

"Emma was a  _baby?_ Why wouldn't you tell us? We would have come straight back!" Snow lamented.

"Regina was trying to save me from pink dresses and Baby Yoga," Emma laughed, shooting her mother an apologetic look.

Snows ears turned red, and she pouted a little. "I wouldn't have put you in Baby Yoga."

"Yes, you would have! And it's not like I was  _really_  a baby. I was in a baby body with my own mind. It was… well, weird," Emma confessed.

"But you undid the spell?" Henry asked, looking at Regina.

"Yeah, kid, that's a whole other story," Emma said, also looking at Regina, trying to gauge her reaction. The subject of coming out had never come up during their week together, as they had been far too distracted with other things.

But Regina smiled, and raised an eyebrow at Emma, silently asking for her permission. And Emma nodded, figuring now was as good a time as any.

"Well, the spell was concentrated around this locket," Regina said, pointing to Emma's locket. "And to break it, I needed to replace pictures of Emma's first family, with pictures of the family who would never betray her."

Snow and David smiled, as they guessed where this was headed, and Emma felt a little bad, knowing they were about to be disappointed.

"So naturally, I put pictures of the three of you in the locket," Regina continued, motioning towards the Charmings and Henry, "but it didn't work."

"What?" Snow cried. "We would never betray Emma!"

"Right," Regina agreed, and Emma was glad she opted not to mention that they already had. "So then I assumed there was something wrong with the spell. I spoke with Ruby, however, and  _she_  suggested that maybe it didn't mean parents, but instead the family that Emma would create for herself."

Snow shook her head in confusion. "Not Hook? You broke up with him."

Emma laughed. "Definitely not Hook!"

"So who then?" Henry asked, clearly anxious to find out who his future step-parent might be.

Emma smiled and took off the locket. She opened it, and handed it to him, and smiled as she watched his eye get wide, and a grin creep across his face.

"You," he said, looking at Regina. Regina just nodded.

"Wait, so…." Snow shook her head in disbelief, clearly trying to process what was happening at that moment.

"Yep, 'fraid so," Emma laughed, putting her arm around Regina. "Regina's my soul mate. Who knew?"

"I knew," Henry said, matter-of-factly.

"You did? How?" Regina asked, raising her eyebrow again, this time in confusion.

Henry shrugged. "I'm the author now, remember? I've gotta pay attention to the story that's being told, along with the story that's… not being told. It's all in the subtext."

"The subtext," Emma repeated, shaking her head and smiling.

"Yeah. It's in the way you too look at each other, and help each other, save each other, and, you know, care about each other. It's obvious to, like, everyone around you."

That's when Emma noticed David nodding right along with Henry. Snow still looked visibly shocked, but Emma figured  _that_  was a Snow White thing, and coming to terms with the fact that her former step-mother just became her daughter-in-law to be would likely take time.

And Emma and Regina took their time. Emma spent the next week moving her things into the mansion. She should have been able to do it all in one day, as Regina pointed out to her several times, but she kept getting distracted, by food or video games or by Regina herself.

And Regina didn't really mind all that much when she served as Emma's distraction.

Six months later, they got married at City Hall, since neither of them were really into the whole wedding thing. Regina didn't want another big fancy wedding, she'd done that before, and Emma didn't want a big spectacle. So it was an intimate affair, with only the Charmings, Henry and Ruby present, and a big celebration at Granny's diner after the fact.

As far as Emma and Regina were concerned, it was perfect.

A month later, they started seriously talking about babies. And the months following that led to disappointment after disappointment and they started to wonder if it was even possible at all. They started talking about more realistic options, like sperm donors or adoption, but they never took steps in either of those directions, because they wanted a baby that was  _theirs_. A symbol of their true love, like Emma was to her own parents.

In the end, of all people, it was Gold who had come through with a solution. It was a potion to counteract the infertility potion Regina had given herself, decades ago, which had been interfering with their true love magic all along.

"Why would you even want to help me?" Regina had asked, when Gold gave her the small vial.

And he just smiled. "I told you I wanted you to find your happy ending, and I meant it, dearie."

And now, here they were, a year and a half later, rocking their daughter on the porch swing in the backyard.

After forty weeks of poring through baby name books, they named her Sage.

"She's going to have strong magic," Regina had said, "ours combined and being the product of true love. She's going to need to be strong and wise."

"Sage," Emma smiled.

"What?"

"Sage," she repeated, holding up the book to the page she was on. "I read it just as you said that. It means wise."

"Sage," Regina smiled. "It's perfect."

It is perfect.

Emma leans her head over and lets it fall on Regina's shoulder. "How long do you think it would have taken us to get here, if it weren't for my little magical escapade?"

"Oh, it was an escapade now, was it?" Regina laughs, "yet when Henry found that video of you playing with a rubber ducky, it was any number of things I can't repeat in front of little ears."

Emma grins. " _That_  was embarrassing."

"No, it was cute."

"Seriously though, how long do you think it would have taken?"

"It's hard to say," Regina admits. "But I believe we would have gotten here, eventually. It was fate, after all, calling you home to me."

Emma sighs as her cheeky grin melts into a genuine smile. "I am home."

**THE END**

* * *


End file.
